Austria’s Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that two diplomats from the Russian embassy have been declared personae non gratae for conduct deemed “incompatible with their diplomatic status.” They have been instructed to depart the country within a week.
With this recent expulsion, Austria has now expelled a total of 11 Russian diplomats since 2020, spanning four separate instances. However, it remains unclear if these expulsions are related. While officials have previously hinted at espionage being a factor in some of the expulsions, the Ministry has yet to provide specific details regarding the recent incident.
“The Foreign Ministry stated that two diplomats from the Russian embassy have engaged in behavior incompatible with their diplomatic status,” using customary language for such instances. They have been instructed to depart the country by the end of March 19, the statement noted.
Prior to Austria’s official announcement, Russia had already declared its intention to retaliate. According to state news agency RIA, Russia’s Foreign Ministry labeled the decision as “groundless.”
In response to previous expulsions by Austria, Moscow has typically expelled diplomats from the Austrian Embassy in Moscow. It’s worth noting that the Austrian Embassy in Moscow has significantly fewer diplomats compared to Russia’s presence in Austria.
Vienna, a significant diplomatic hub, serves as the host to crucial international bodies like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and United Nations agencies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Given its diplomatic prominence, larger nations such as Russia and the United States often appoint separate ambassadors to Austria, the OSCE, and the U.N. organizations, each overseeing an embassy or permanent mission.
Following its division into Allied sectors after World War Two, Vienna has earned a reputation as a center for espionage. Its extensive diplomatic presence provides a platform for intelligence operatives to operate under diplomatic cover, affording them diplomatic immunity.
