Peace in Ukraine must guarantee its sovereignty and territorial integrity, says Austrian Foreign Minister

Austria’s Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger said that any peace in Ukraine can only be viable if it ensures the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and capacity for self-defence. She made the statement at the plenary session of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna, Ukrinform reports.

She stressed that adherence to international law and the principles of the UN and OSCE is not merely symbolic but a fundamental condition for stability. “I will not repeat myself, but I will say: respect for international law, the principles of the UN and the OSCE is not only a moral statement. Peace holds only when it is just and long-lasting. And, of course, when sovereignty and full territorial integrity of Ukraine are guaranteed, its ability for self-defence, as well as all opportunities for rebuilding destroyed towns and villages and prospects for people in Ukraine for a peaceful life and life in prosperity,” she said.

Meinl-Reisinger added that the OSCE can play a crucial role in shaping Europe’s future security system. “I believe that in such difficult times, in times of war — the war that erupted in Ukraine — the OSCE, an organisation built on consensus, can and must play an important role in forming the future, in the broadest sense, European security architecture,” she noted.

She also underlined that the global system must be governed by legal norms. “In any case, one thing is clear: we do not want to live in a world where only the law of the strongest applies. That is why we as Austria stand for the force of law,” Meinl-Reisinger said.

The annual OSCE Ministerial Council meeting is taking place in Vienna with representatives of 57 participating states and 11 partner countries. Ukraine’s delegation is headed by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.