"The Austrian Foreign Ministry announces the deprivation of diplomatic status of three employees of the Russian embassy in Vienna and one employee of the Russian Consulate General in Salzburg. These persons have committed actions incompatible with their diplomatic status and are therefore declared undesirable (personae non gratae) in accordance with Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said in a statement received by TASS.
"The employees of the Russian Embassy in Vienna and an employee of the Russian Consulate General in Salzburg we refer to must leave federal territory no later than April 12, 2022," the Austrian Foreign Ministry added.
On April 6, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said in an interview to the ORF2 channel that Austria would not expel Russian diplomats without reason, but only if the republic’s special services obtain sufficient evidence of them violating provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
