Am Anfang steht eine kühne Tat. Obwohl angesichts des protokollarischen Unterschiedes zwischen einer Ministerin und dem Präsidenten eines anderen Staates gänzlich unstatthaft, hatte Außenministerin Kneissl die kecke Idee, Vladimir Putin zu ihrer Hochzeitsfeier einzuladen. Der Bundeskanzler war darüber nicht informiert. Ob es tatsächlich so war, oder sich der Kanzler damit nachträglich von dieser Einladung distanzieren wollte, lässt sich nicht herausfinden. Freilich – entgegen allen Erwartungen nahm Vladimir Putin die Einladung an.

Es ist nun nicht so, dass sich ein alter Schulfreund von Frau Kneissl sich entschieden hätte, seiner Klassenkameradin von damals bei deren Hochzeit die Aufwartung zu … Continue Reading ››

It was a warm welcome Vladimir Putin received on his 6th visit to Austria since 2001. Initially the Austrian side considered to arrange a state visit, but in the end,  it was downgraded to a working visit. Hard to tell whether this was due to outside pressure to have no visit at all or some other reasons. Officially, the visit was linked to the 50^th anniversary of the gas sales contract between Austria and the late Soviet Union signed back in June 1968. In reality, this visit was part of a deliberate Austrian effort to raise its profile … Continue Reading ››

In a reckless decision, the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement – signed back in July 2015 as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – and reinstated all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran on May 8. Given the secondary nature of the sanctions, all companies trading with and investing in Iran are bound to wind down their contracts within 90 to 180 days. Trump has decided to please his voter base with the termination of the deal. He went on with his notorius ambition to deconstruct Obama’s legacy and gave in to his hawkish advisers. In addition, Israel … Continue Reading ››