Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer appealed on Friday to al-Qaida's North Africa wing to release two Austrian tourists but said he had no intention of yielding to the hostage-takers' demands.
"Our priority is the health of the hostages. Hence we appeal to the kidnappers to free the hostages unconditionally," Gusenbauer told reporters on arrival for the final day of a European Union summit in Brussels, stressing Austria was a peaceful country that had good relations with all.
He said Austria was in touch with the authorities in the region but added: "We do not intend to meet the demands." Al-Qaida demanded on Thursday the release of militants held in Tunisia and Algeria within three days.
The three-day ultimatum started at midnight on Thursday, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site.
Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said on Thursday efforts were being made to secure the release of the hostages but noted that the demands were outside Vienna's jurisdiction.
The demands and a list of the names of the group's prisoners were sent to Vienna through unidentified mediators, it said in the posting, which had pictures of the hostages, Andrea Kloiber, 43, and Wolfgang Ebner, 51.
The group, which has been waging a violent campaign against government forces and foreign interests in North Africa, said its members were jailed for confronting "the new crusade against Islam."
