Because of drug conference

Top US Secretary of State lands in Vienna on Air Force Two

Blinken landed with "Air Force Two" in Vienna-Schwechat, then went into the city with a police escort.

(Bild: Patrick Huber/www.der-rasende-reporter.info, Krone KREATIV)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Vienna-Schwechat on Friday in the number two state aircraft of the USA, "Air Force Two". The top politician will be attending a United Nations conference in Vienna.

The huge US state aircraft caused quite a stir in Schwechat. "The plane is a Boeing C-32A, a special military version of the Boeing 757-200 for the US government. Only four of these exist," says Austrian aviation expert and author Patrick Huber.

UN conference and visit to heads of state
Blinken attends the annual conference of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna and gives a speech there at 12.30 pm. In the afternoon, he will meet Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (both ÖVP) as well as Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen.

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Fentanyl crisis in the USA
Among other things, this year's drug control conference will focus on the rampant opioid crisis, particularly the trade in the dangerous "zombie drug" fentanyl in the USA. According to the US State Department, Blinken is the first US head of state ever to attend a meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Fentanyl is often used to dilute heroin. However, the opioid is now also being abused on its own as a drug - with devastating consequences.

(Bild: AP)

"The fundamental truth about the synthetic drug crisis: no part of the world is immune," Blinken explained on the topic on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Austria also represented at drug conference
The 67th meeting of the Commission, which opened yesterday (Thursday) and will continue until Friday next week (March 22), will be attended by the foreign ministers of numerous countries, including the coca-growing countries of Colombia, Honduras and Ecuador. Austria will be represented on Friday by Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens), who will also give a speech.

Meeting with Nehammer, Schallenberg and Van der Bellen
Blinken will meet Nehammer and Schallenberg at the Federal Chancellery and hold a press conference there with the Austrian Foreign Minister at 3.15 pm. Afterwards, the US Secretary of State visits Federal President Van der Bellen in the Presidential Chancellery.

The US State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, had emphasized in advance that the USA and Austria were working together on issues such as humanitarian aid for Ukraine and compliance with the EU's economic sanctions against Russia. Both countries are also among Israel's strongest supporters in the Middle East conflict.

Controversy surrounding Raiffeisen's business with Russia
One possible controversial topic of discussion with Nehammer and Schallenberg could be the fact that Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has run into problems with the US authorities with its Russian activities: The US Treasury Department warned the bank that it was in danger of being "cut off from the US financial system" - if it contributed to financing the Russian military. Anna Morris, a senior US Treasury official, met with government officials and RBI executives last week, EUobserver reported. RBI generated 1.3 billion euros in profit in 2023 through its subsidiary RBRU in Russia, where it employed 9,942 people in 490 branches. The bank also participated in a Russian program to provide credit benefits to Russian conscripts.