Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, warned on Thursday that Austria's possible move to give up its constitutionally enshrined neutrality and join NATO would undermine its statehood and international standing.
In a statement on Russian social media app VK, Medvedev accused Brussels of pushing Austria toward what he called a "NATO Anschluss," arguing that Vienna's neutrality, established in 1955, is a legal foundation of the Austrian state.
"Can Austria unilaterally abandon permanent neutrality? Can it decide to join NATO? The answer is unequivocally negative," he said, citing the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and warning that Moscow could block such a step as one of the guarantors of post-war Austria.
Medvedev also criticized Austria's growing military cooperation with NATO, pointing to its role as a transit hub for alliance troops and aircraft.
He said abandoning neutrality would jeopardize Vienna's position as a host to international organizations such as the UN, IAEA, OSCE and OPEC, and could force a relocation of these bodies to other regions.
The former president cautioned that Austria would lose its reputation as a mediator and peacemaker, while its armed forces could become a target of Russian military retaliation if the country moved closer to NATO.
Austria's neutrality is rooted in the 1955 State Treaty, signed after the withdrawal of Allied forces. While neutrality remains broadly supported by the public, political debate has grown amid Russia's war in Ukraine, with some parties calling for closer ties with NATO.
