Austria condemns countries for evacuating diplomats from Ukraine

By Askin Kiyagan

VIENNA (AA) – Austrian foreign minister on Tuesday criticized the decision of some countries to withdraw their diplomats from Ukraine due to the tension with Russia.

In a statement, Alexander Schallenberg said such acts of these states cause suspicion among the people of Ukraine, adding that Austrian diplomats will continue to stay in Ukraine as much as possible.

Stating that they support Germany's stance on the Ukraine-Russia tension, Schallenberg said Austria will not send weapons to Ukraine.

Tensions between Russia, Ukraine, and the West escalated after the US issued a stark warning on Sunday, saying the latest intelligence reports show that Russia could launch a military attack against Ukraine "any day now."

Ukraine has been plagued by a conflict in its eastern regions since March 2014 following Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.

Kyiv said Moscow recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.

Russia has denied it is preparing to invade and accused Western countries of undermining its security through NATO’s expansion towards its borders.

The Kremlin also issued a list of security demands to the West, including a rollback of troop deployments from some ex-Soviet states, and guarantees that Ukraine would not join NATO.

In a written response to those demands, Washington said it is committed to upholding NATO's “open-door policy,” while NATO also conveyed the alliance's own reply “in parallel with the United States.”