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Top Austrian diplomat comes out in opposition to NATO security guarantees for Kiev

Alexander Schallenberg noted that security guarantees should not trigger obligations to provide military assistance similar to what is enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty

VIENNA, October 2. /TASS/. Future security guarantees for Ukraine should not include NATO collective defense commitments, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said ahead of a meeting of top EU diplomats in Kiev.

The Kurier newspaper quoted the minister as saying that it is necessary to "think about what will happen" after the conflict in Ukraine ends. At the same time, Vienna’s top diplomat said that security guarantees for Ukraine are necessary, but that they should not trigger obligations to provide military assistance similar to what is enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, the newspaper said.

Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, signed in Washington in 1949, enshrines the principle of collective defense of the alliance. It provides for a collective response to an "armed attack against one or more" NATO member countries.

In June, Austria, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta called for their neutral status to be taken into account when discussing potential security guarantees for Ukraine.

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