Austria expels four Russian diplomats, asks them to leave within a week

Austria's foreign ministry said on Thursday (February 2) that it expelled four Russian diplomats, including two accredited with the United Nations in Vienna. According to a statement, the diplomats have been asked to leave Austria within a week, i.e. by February 8. The foreign ministry said that two diplomats of the Russian embassy engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status. "Therefore, they are declared personae non gratae under Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the statement added.

On the other hand, two diplomats of the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN committed acts which were incompatible with the Headquarters Agreement and they would have to leave Austria, the foreign ministry statement further said.

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The ministry did not specify what any of these four diplomats had done. However, an official who wished to remain anonymous told news agency Reuters on Thursday that the case involved spying.

Diplomatic expulsions have been rare in Austria,which enjoyed close relations with Russia before its offensive in Ukrainethat will soon complete one year.

In April last year, Austria had expelled four Russian diplomats as part of a coordinated European Union reaction after the discovery of alleged killings of Ukrainian civilians by Moscow in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, a report by news agency AFP on Thursday said.

And in 2020, a Russian diplomat accused of espionage was expelled. Since this year, Austria has expelled nine Russian diplomats.

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Austria's capital city Vienna has been a major diplomatic centre that hosts the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and organisations of the UN including the International Atomic Energy Agency. Many large countries, including the United States and Russia, have separate ambassadors to Austria, the OSCE and the UN organisations, the Reuters report said.

Vienna also has a reputation for being a den of spies. The extensive diplomatic presence allows stationing intelligence agents there under a diplomatic cover, granting them diplomatic immunity, the report added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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