Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons OPCW

The Kneissl Case and the Russian Shadow Over Ballhausplatz

These are images that have been etched into the collective memory of Austrian foreign policy in recent years. The then-Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl (nominated by the FPÖ), taking a deep curtsy before Vladimir Putin at her wedding in Gamlitz, southern Styria, in 2018. What was dismissed by critics at the time as a diplomatic blunder has, eight years later, escalated into a full-blown state affair. While Kneissl now leads a luxurious life in exile in Russia as a “Kremlin influencer,” her former closest aide, ex-Secretary General Johannes Peterlik, is on trial in Vienna.

March 17, 2026

Austria's Foreign Minister Schallenberg Awarded “Arms Control Person of the Year”

A significant success for international diplomacy: Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and the Austrian Foreign Ministry have been named “Arms Control Person of the Year” in 2024 by the renowned US Arms Control Association (ACA). This prestigious award recognizes the special commitment of Schallenberg and his team to the regulation of autonomous weapons systems (AWS) as well as the organization of the Vienna conference “Humanity at the Crossroads: Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Challenge of Regulation”.

January 15, 2025

EU Foreign Affairs Council: Schallenberg Warns of Second Iron Curtain

At this month's EU Foreign Affairs Council, current foreign issues, such as developments in Belarus, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the relations with Russia, were on the agenda. Austria was represented by Foreign Minister Schallenberg.

October 12, 2020
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