The Austrian government on Thursday announced the expulsion of four Russian diplomats for acts «incompatible» with their status and demanded that they leave the country by February 8.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry has indicated in a statement that «two diplomats from the Russian Embassy have engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status and have therefore been declared ‘persona non grata’ under Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.»
It has also specified that «two diplomats of the Russian permanent mission to the United Nations have committed acts incompatible with the Headquarters Agreement, so they will also have to leave the territory of Austria».
«The four Russian diplomats concerned will have to leave the territory of Austria within a week at the latest, i.e. by the end of February 8, 2023,» he concluded, a day after the Austrian President, Alexander Van der Bellen, traveled to Kiev to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelenski.
«Austria is a neutral country. However, military neutrality does not mean that we are neutral in terms of values,» said the Austrian president, who stressed that Vienna cannot be indifferent if one country invades another in Europe.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
