On Wednesday, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered two Russian diplomats to exit the country by the 19th of March. The rationale behind this move has not been publicly shared by the Ministry.
The Ministry has characterised the conduct of the diplomats as being inconsistent with the roles and responsibilities associated with their positions. In an official statement, the Austrian authorities labelled the two individuals “personae non gratae”, citing Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Following international protocol, Russia must now take action to either recall the individuals or terminate their functions as diplomats.
This is not the first time that Austria has taken such measures. In fact, since 2020, Austria has dismissed 11 Russian diplomats. Interestingly, just last year, Austria revoked the diplomatic status of four Russians for similar reasons. The Directory of Diplomatic Missions currently recognises 56 individuals as diplomats to Austria from Russia.
The Russian officials, however, have expressed their dissatisfaction with Austria’s actions. The Russian Embassy released a Telegram announcement in which they described the move as uncorroborated by evidence and likely stemming from political motivations, an assertion they vehemently refusing to accept.
This content has been based on and refers back to an article originally published at JURIST – News.