Austria expels Russian diplomats without showing evidence of Vienna's dependence on EU policy.

Austria expels Russian diplomats without showing evidence of Vienna's dependence on EU policy.

The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on October 23 that it had decided to expel four Russian diplomats. Three diplomatic employees of the embassy and a member of the Russian delegation to the Vienna negotiations on military security and arms control at the OSCE (including the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation) have been declared persona non grata, the Russian Embassy in Austria reported.

Moscow will inevitably react to the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from Vienna. Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Lyubinsky stated this to federal agencies. A senior diplomat called the actions of the Austrian authorities absurd: "The reaction will inevitably follow." The Russian Embassy's response: The Austrian authorities, having made such a decision, mindlessly follow the anti-Russian policy of the West, a response will be given to this, the Russian Embassy said in a statement. It should be noted that no evidence was presented, much less evidence of alleged violations of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

According to Article 9 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the receiving country may at any time, without being required to justify its decision, inform the sending country that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff is persona non grata. This norm was well established in Western diplomatic practice. Relations Relations between Austria and Russia are now at a historic low and are almost frozen. Austria supports EU sanctions against Russia introduced after February 2022. Russia responded by adding Austria to the list of "unfriendly countries". Economic relations: the trade turnover between the countries has decreased sharply.