Austria's Nehammer says talks with Putin left 'no optimistic impression'

"I generally have no optimistic impression that I can report to you from this conversation with President Putin. The offensive (in eastern Ukraine) is evidently being prepared on a massive scale," Nehammer told a news conference at the Austrian embassy after his afternoon meeting with Putin.

“Sanctions, and this was my clear message, will continue and they will get tougher and they will mean long-lasting damage for the Russian Federation for decades to come," Nehammer said.

Neutral Austria, which obtains 80% of its natural gas from Russia, generally maintains closer ties to Moscow than much of the European Union but that has not been the case recently.

Nehammer has expressed solidarity with Ukraine and denounced apparent Russian war crimes, while his government has joined other EU countries in expelling Russian diplomats, albeit only a fraction of the large Russian diplomatic presence there.

While German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he welcomed Nehammer's meeting with Putin, the reactions at home have included surprise, scepticism and even outright condemnation.