For 70 years, neutrality has been the cornerstone of Austria's foreign policy, but debate on it has resurfaced since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The Alpine nation has sided with other EU members to condemn the war, raising concerns that it is swaying from its neutral stance.

"For us, neutrality is a fundamental element of our national identity," Andreas Wimmer, representative of citizens' initiative Voices for Neutrality, told AFP.

The far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which won elections last year but failed to form a government, has also campaigned for maintaining neutrality and opposes aid to Ukraine, calling it a "betrayal".

In Austria, the policy of neutrality was imposed by the then Soviet Union as a price for the end of the Allies' post-war occupation of the country.

The policy offer

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