Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a 2007 news conference in Vienna.(ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)
Summary
Austria and Russia have a long and deep relationship; history and geography have often aligned their foreign policy interests. Russia does not expect anything specific from Russian President Vladimir Putin's June 24 visit to Austria, but the meeting itself is a way for Moscow to exploit the political divisions in Europe. Although Austria is not a particularly important EU decision-maker, it is a part of the German supply chain with political and economic influence in Central Europe and the Western Balkans. Austria is also interested in remaining a major hub for Russian energy. For its part, Russia wants to benefit from its good relationship with Austria as it makes sure the European Union remains fragmented.
Analysis
Austria historically has seen Central Europe and the Western Balkans as part of its natural sphere of influence. In broad terms, Austria's interests do not overlap with Russia's, especially on the Northern European Plain. However, Austria traditionally has been interested in preventing Moscow from expanding into the southern regions of Central Europe and the Balkans while also maintaining good relations with Russia, a strategy that helps constrain other strong European powers and creates lucrative commercial opportunities.
Austro-Russian relations became particularly close in the 18th century, when the Hapsburg kings and Russian czars often fought together against common enemies, including Turkey and France. The French Revolution gave the Russians and the Austrians additional reasons to cooperate; Vienna and Moscow fought together against France during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars (along with most European powers of the time). However, their interests clashed periodically, especially as both powers competed for influence in the Western Balkans. This competition intensified during the second half of the 19th century, starting a series of events that culminated in World War I, which found Russia and Austria-Hungary fighting on opposite sides.
After World War II, Austria, like Germany, was occupied by the Allied forces and divided into four zones. But unlike Germany, Austria was allowed to keep its territorial unity and become a fully independent country. Foreign troops left Austria in 1955. In exchange, Vienna declared its "permanent neutrality," which allowed it to position itself as a meeting place for East-West dialogue during the Cold War. To some extent, Austria resembles Finland: It offered neutrality in exchange for national sovereignty. Also like Finland, Austria only joined the European Union after the end of the Cold War, and it is still not a NATO member, though it participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
In other words, Austria does not feel the same threat from Russia that other nations in Central and Eastern Europe do. Austria is relatively far from Russia and was never a part of the Soviet Union or even a Communist satellite. Within the European Union, Vienna has generally supported the idea of enhancing relations with Moscow. From Russia's perspective, Austria is a place where it can trade, conduct business and keep a moderate amount of influence, but it is not a vital strategic need like other areas that are closer to Russia's borders.
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Cooperation and Complications
Energy is a key factor in their bilateral relationship. Austria depends heavily on foreign supplies, and half its natural gas imports come from Russia. Austria is also a key natural gas hub for several European countries. Roughly a third of all natural gas exports from Russia to Western Europe pass through the natural gas junction in Baumgarten in northeastern Austria. Austria receives Russian natural gas through Ukraine and Slovakia and transits it further to countries including Italy, France, Hungary, Germany, Slovenia and Croatia. This explains the tight links between Austria's natural gas and oil company OMV and Russia's Gazprom. As Europe tries to diversify its energy suppliers, Austria is still interested in being a transit state for Russian energy.
There is also a great deal of banking exposure between the countries. Austrian banks such as Raiffeisen have large operations in Russia, and Russia's largest foreign lending bank, Sberbank, maintains its foreign headquarters in Vienna. Because of its banking secrecy laws, Austria has established itself as a haven for Russian capital.
However, some tensions remain in the Austro-Russian relationship. Austria still considers Central Europe and the Western Balkans to be within its natural sphere of influence. Thus, Vienna will respect the Kremlin's interests in Russia's immediate periphery as long as Moscow respects Vienna's interests in Europe. Evidence of these tensions can be seen in Austria's support for the European Union's Eastern Partnership initiative, which seeks to bring former Soviet states closer to the European Union. Austria also has supported plans to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas, such as the Nabucco pipeline. More recently, Vienna has criticized Russia's annexation of Crimea.
However, Austria believes that the Eastern Partnership initiative should not be directed against Moscow and has advocated for greater Russian participation in the process. Moreover, Vienna has been generally cold regarding Ukraine's EU membership ambitions. The Austrian government recently suggested that Ukraine could become a neutral state, following the model adopted by Austria after World War II, an idea that could bring the interests of Germany, Austria and Russia into alignment. Vienna also has supported the South Stream pipeline, which bypasses Ukraine and preserves Russia's place as a key supplier of natural gas to central and southeastern Europe.
Exploiting Political Divisions
Putin's upcoming visit to Austria has political motivations: The Russian president needs to send the message that despite the Ukrainian crisis he can still be received in many European capitals. In recent weeks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has visited places such as Finland and Serbia, but Austria is a country at the core of Europe's economic engine.
Europe is politically fragmented, and Russia wants to exploit those divisions. This strategy has taken different forms. Moscow is using the promise of a South Stream pipeline to pit countries, including Bulgaria and Austria, against the EU Commission, which has expressed concerns about the legality of the project. Russia has threatened to apply economic sanctions against former Soviet nations if they sign association agreements with the European Union and has built ties with nationalist and anti-EU political parties.
More important, Moscow has held military exercises close to countries located between the Baltic Sea and Black Sea, prompting those countries to demand stronger EU action against Russia. At the same time, the Kremlin has used its energy and trade links with Germany and France to prevent the European Union from escalating tensions with Russia. Thus, countries in Central Europe have become increasingly frustrated with their Western partners.
Russia's relationship with Austria is not nearly as important as its relationship with Germany, but Moscow sees Vienna as an attractive place to play politics and seek potential support. Putin's visit to Austria will be brief -- the president will only spend a few hours in the country -- but he certainly hopes his visit will contribute to the European Union's continuing fragmentation.
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