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Austria expels four Russian diplomats

February 2, 2023

Vienna declared four Russian diplomats personae non gratae, the Austrian Foreign Ministry has said.

https://p.dw.com/p/4N0N5
The Russian Embassy in Vienna
Two of the diplomats worked at the Russian Embassy, pictured hereImage: Georg Hochmuth/APA/picturedesk.com/picture alliance

Austria named four Russian diplomats, two at the Russian Embassy and two working at Moscow's mission to the UN in Vienna, personae non gratae, the Austrian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The diplomats are alleged to have acted "in a manner incompatible with their diplomatic status," the ministry said. Diplomatic expulsions are rare in neutral Austria, which enjoyed close relations with Russia before Moscow invaded Ukraine.

The four Russians have one week to leave Austria.

Western European nations and Russia have expelled diplomats on several occasions since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started nearly a year ago.

sms/kb  (Reuters, AFP, AP)