This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to the Austrian Press Agency (APA).

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will speak during an online broadcast Thursday night as part of the 4Gamechangers digital technology and media festival in Vienna’s Marx Halle.” Said.

The Ukrainian president is expected to address the Austrians and talk about the humanitarian situation and current developments in Ukraine.

According to ARA, this time there will be Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and Federal Chancellor Karl Negammer on the festival stage, as well as two journalists who will be able to speak with the Ukrainian leader.

I don’t understand why he (President of Ukraine – ed.) was not allowed to speak in Parliament … Now we have a place for this at the 4Gamechangers festival, quoting one of the festival’s founders, Nina Kaiser, who organized the speech with the help of the Ukrainian ambassador to Austria.

Hollywood star George Clooney will also talk about human rights at the festival on Thursday.

As reported, in March the opposition liberal party NEOS made an attempt to invite the President of Ukraine to the presidency of the Austrian National Council to give a speech in parliament. But two other opposition parties – the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the Far Right and pro-Russian Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) – did not support such an initiative. They motivated this by the fact that such a speech by the Ukrainian leader would allegedly contradict the neutrality of Austria.

This behavior of the two parliamentary parties caused serious criticism in Austrian society. The party mates’ decision was even criticized by SPÖ politician Hans Peter Doskocil, head of the federal state of Burgenland, calling it “a geopolitical mistake that should not have happened”.

The President of the Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka stated that he was ready to invite the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to address the parliament, but this was only after the groups in the parliament agreed on this issue.

Later, in April, NEOS launched a new initiative for the President of Ukraine to address the National Council, but the Freedom Party of Austria again opposed it.

On 14 June, President of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk addressed the Austrian National Council during his visit to Austria. This happened not during the session, but as part of a “special event” that the Austrian Freedom Party ignored.

Photo: President.gov.ua