Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker believes that the Russian Federation, as a "belligerent aggressor," is a threat to the EU and Russia is "very dangerous" for Austrian democracy, he stated this, among other things, in an interview with Der Standard on Friday.

In particular, to the publication's question regarding Russia's influence on the parliamentary elections in the fall of 2024. Stocker replied: "I have no reliable evidence that this is the case... However, it is undeniable that Russia uses destabilization attempts, disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks to influence other Western European democracies - I cannot rule out that this is also happening in Austria. In any case, Russia is very dangerous for our democracy," the chancellor said.

When asked by a journalist about the Russian Federation's hybrid war against the EU, Stocker said: "I wouldn't say so. But Russia, as a belligerent aggressor, is a threat not only to Ukraine."

As reported, on March 3, Austria swore in the country's new chancellor, a member of the right-wing Austrian People's Party (APP), Christian Stocker, who will head the government, which for the first time included representatives of three parties at once - the APP, the Social Democratic Party and the liberal NEOS. The agency recalls that they managed to unite only after the second attempt - after the far-right Austrian Freedom Party took first place in the elections in September.