Why Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer went to Russia

According to observers in the Russian capital, Karl Nehammer did not come to Russia to become a peacemaker. The Austrian chancellor was not at all concerned about Ukraine, not about the Russian military operation in that country.

Karl Nehammer was thinking about his country. The fact is that Austria is 80% dependent on Russian gas supplies. But not only that. 

The Austrian city of Baumgarten is home to one of Europe's largest gas distribution hubs, the Central European Gas Hub.

About one third of Russian fuel is pumped through it to Western Europe. OMV estimates that the hub at Baumgarten sends around 40 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year. 

From here the gas from Russia is shipped to Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, and France, as well as Hungary and Slovakia. 

That is why Karl Nehammer came to Vladimir Putin to talk about his country's business. According to Pravda.ru's sources, the Russian president did not give the answer Nehammer was expecting. Putin confirmed that for all "unfriendly countries," the conditions of gas supply are the same.

Karl Nehammer openly tried to blackmail the Russian president by saying that he would confirm to the world media that Russia is butchers. Putin rejected the blackmail. 

So the Austrian chancellor carried out all his threats. The Austrian blackmail was spread by all the leading media of the Western countries.

And now it is hard to say what the Austrian chancellor would have said if Putin had agreed to sign separatist gas supply terms with him.

It became clear to European leaders yesterday that Karl Nehammer failed to secure acceptable conditions for his country as a Central European gas hub.

The battle for Russian gas will continue. It is not ruled out that after the Austrian chancellor other European leaders will start visiting Moscow. Another thing is that they are the leaders of "unfriendly countries" for Russia. The answer will be the same for all of them.

Publications in the Western media on Karl Nehammer's "tough talk" with Vladimir Putin are unlikely to help Russian President Putin achieve different conditions. Rather, the opposite is true.

The anti-state coup in Ukraine in 2014 was carried out with the help of both European and American politicians. 

They turned a blind eye to how Ukrainian Nazis shot Russian-speaking citizens of that country for eight years. They armed Ukraine for war with Russia. They have imposed economic sanctions on Russia that are hurting the people of their own countries.

Will Putin go along with politicians with "double standards"? That is the question.