On May 8, 2022, a Ukrainian woman wears a Ukrainian flag during a protest against Ukraine conflict in front of the Soviet War Memorial in Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna, Austria. Austria is expelling four Russian diplomats for being inconsistent with international agreements, a reason often invoked in spy cases, according to the Austrian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
Two of the four diplomats declared non gratae and ordered to leave the country by Feb 8 at the latest are stationed at the Russian Embassy in Austria while the other two work at the Russian mission to the United Nations in Vienna, the ministry said in a statement.
Two diplomats at the Russian embassy have acted in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic status. They were therefore declared non-gratae persons personae non gratae by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, according to Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Russian mission to the UN acted in a way that was not compatible with the host country agreement between the United Nations and Austria, it added.
The ministry did not say anything about what any of the diplomats had done, and a spokeswoman wouldn't say anything.
Vienna is a major diplomatic centre hosting the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE and UN organisations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Larger countries like Russia and the United States often have separate ambassadors to Austria, the OSCE and the UN, each with an embassy or permanent mission.
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The city, which was divided into Allied sectors after World War Two, has a long-standing reputation as a den of spies. The opportunity to station intelligence agents there under a diplomatic cover gives them diplomatic immunity.