2024-03-13 22:13:04
Those affected would have to leave Austrian territory by March 19th at the latest. You worked at the bilateral Russian embassy in Austria, not at the representation to the international organizations in Vienna. In the past, Austria has been rather cautious regarding expelling Russian diplomats. The reason for this was, among other things, the impact on the Austrian representation in Moscow, which is much more sparsely staffed.
In fact, the Russian Foreign Ministry immediately announced a “response” to the “groundless” expulsion of the two diplomats. It is expected that Austrian diplomats in Moscow will now also have to pack their bags, even if they have not committed anything comparable to the two suspected Russian spies in Vienna.
Russian embassy “outraged”
The Russian embassy in Vienna expressed “indignation” at the decision by Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) in a statement. “As with previous expulsion episodes, no evidence or even evidence of a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations was presented.”
“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 further deterioration of bilateral relations lies solely with Vienna,” it said.
Directory lists 60 Russian diplomats
With the current expulsion, Austria has already thrown out eleven Russian diplomats since 2020. In February of the previous year, four diplomats had to return home, including two at the Russian representation to the international organizations in Vienna.
In April 2022, four diplomats were also expelled from the country following the brutal massacre in Butscha near Kiev became known. Even before the Russian aggression, a Russian diplomat had to leave Austria in August 2020 because of economic espionage.
The directory of the diplomatic and consular corps maintained by the Foreign Ministry currently lists 60 diplomats at bilateral Russian missions in Austria, 56 people are accredited for the Russian embassy in Vienna and four for the Russian consulate general in Salzburg.
Ministry: No connection with “Falter” article
The Foreign Ministry denied any connection between the current expulsions and the report in the Viennese weekly newspaper “Falter” regarding contacts of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Austria. The allegations made in the report once morest FPÖ politicians prompted ÖVP General Secretary Christian Stocker to hold a press conference on Tuesday. The FPÖ rejected the allegations as all refuted.
NEOS calls for closure of cultural institute
In an initial reaction on Wednesday evening, NEOS called for further expulsions of Russian diplomats. Foreign policy spokesman and EU leading candidate Helmut Brandstätter pointed out in a broadcast that other EU states had “expelled diplomatic and technical staff from the country on a large scale” following Putin’s attack.
Only Hungary and Austria did not do this, “even though it is an open secret that around a third of the embassy staff are likely to be spies,” said Brandstätter. The lack of vehemence towards Russia is also reflected in the fact that the Russian Cultural Institute in Vienna is still not closed, even though it only hosted Putin representative Mikhail Schwydkoj at the beginning of the week.
NEOS MP Stephanie Krisper also wants to discuss this in the Standing Subcommittee of the Interior Committee on Thursday. “How can it be that someone from Putin’s closest circle can simply enter Austria unmolested?” she asked, referring to Schwydkoj. It is also an “unbearable situation that spies generally have the perception that they can operate in Austria unmolested”.
1710386922
#Espionage #Russian #diplomats #unwanted
