Austria expels 2 Russian diplomats

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - Branding them "undesirable persons," Austria is expelling two Russian diplomats, said an official press release late Wednesday.

The two diplomats are alleged to have committed acts "that are incompatible with their diplomatic status,” said a Foreign Ministry press release, but gave no further details.

"The Russian diplomats concerned must leave the federal territory within one week at the latest, i.e. by the end of March 19, 2024," the ministry added.

The diplomats were working at the Russian Embassy in Vienna, not at a representation to international organizations in Vienna, said Austrian public broadcaster ORF.

According to ORF, the embassy expressed its "indignation" at the move.

"As in previous expulsion episodes, no evidence or even proof of a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations was presented," the broadcaster quoted from the statement.

"This is a purely political decision by the Austrian authorities, which we categorically reject. There can be no doubt that Moscow will respond decisively. The responsibility for a further degradation of bilateral relations lies solely with Vienna," said the statement.

Including the two current cases, Austria has expelled 11 Russian diplomats from the country since 2020.

According to the Austrian Foreign Ministry, there are currently still 60 diplomats at bilateral Russian representations in Austria.

Since Russia started the war in Ukraine in February 2022 in particular, there has been a rash of European countries expelling Russian diplomats, and vice versa.