Austria won't join NATO

Speaking after a meeting in Prague with Czech counterpart Petr Fiala, Nehammer said Austria's story was different from that of Finland and Sweden and that it would preserve its military neutrality.

However, he said his country as a member of the European Union showed solidarity with Ukraine, allowed arms shipments to Kiev and supported sanctions against Russia, the BBC writes.

Fiala said his Austrian counterpart had supported the idea of expanding the capacity of the Transalpine oil pipeline (TAL), which supplies refinerys to Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic from a terminal in the Italian port of Trieste.

Czech officials have said the TAL pipeline could eventually supply enough oil in case of an EU embargo on Russian imports.

But they say it would take up to three years to expand capacity.