Austria has declared four Russian diplomats persona non grata on suspicion of espionage. The decision was made after information received by the Austrian security services about their alleged connection to intelligence activity.
Three of the diplomats are employees of the Russian embassy in Vienna. According to the Austrian Foreign Ministry, they were engaged in “activities incompatible with diplomatic status“.
The fourth diplomat was part of the Russian delegation on military security and arms control to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Diplomats must leave Austria
All four have been declared persona non grata under Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. This means they are obliged to leave Austria.
The specific actions that led to the measure have not been made public. Austrian authorities have also not provided details of the information gathered by the security services. Therefore, the allegations of espionage remain suspicions, not publicly established facts of a crime.
The news was reported by the Austrian publication Heute, which refers to the Austrian Foreign Ministry. According to information from “Ukrinform“ Austria has already expelled two Russian diplomats in the spring.
The new decision deepens diplomatic tensions between Vienna and Moscow. So far, no additional actions have been announced by the Austrian side or a specific deadline for the four Russian representatives to leave the country.
Sources: ukrinform.ua, heute.at