By STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN<\/p>\n
VIENNA (AP) \u2014 Austria on Friday ordered four Russian diplomats to leave the country after accusing them of espionage, an Austrian official said.<\/p>\n
Austria \u2014 and particularly Vienna, its capital \u2014 has long been considered a hotbed for spying because of lenient espionage laws and a high concentration of diplomats, given the many international organizations based in the city.<\/p>\n
The Austrian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said the expulsions were linked to espionage.<\/p>\n
Austria\u2019s Foreign Ministry said that three of the four were diplomats at the Russian Embassy in Vienna while the fourth was based at Moscow\u2019s mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.<\/p>\n
The ministry, in a brief statement, said the Russian diplomats had \u201cengaged in activities incompatible with their diplomatic status\u201d and had therefore been declared personae non gratae. The diplomats were told to leave the country in the coming days, the foreign ministry said. The ministry did not provide further details about the diplomats or their alleged activities.<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky told the state-run Russian news agency TASS that \u201ca reaction is unavoidable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The move brings the number of expelled Russian diplomats since 2020 to 18.<\/p>\n
In May, Austria expelled<\/a> three Russian Embassy employees who were suspected of espionage by using antennas on Russian diplomatic buildings, according to the Austrian Foreign Ministry. The installations allowed Russia to intercept data transmitted by international organizations based in Vienna via satellite internet, Austria\u2019s public broadcaster ORF reported at the time.<\/p>\n European nations and Russia have expelled each other\u2019s diplomats on several occasions since Moscow\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a>. Austria has given aid to Ukraine but not military equipment since it has a policy of military neutrality.<\/p>\n As a result of expulsions across Europe since 2022, some of Russia\u2019s representations in Europe have been reduced in size.<\/p>\n \u201cThe number of Russian diplomatic personnel in Austria, however, remained high even after 2022, primarily due to the multilateral missions in Vienna,\u201d Austria\u2019s domestic intelligence agency DSN said in its latest annual report presented in May.<\/p>\n \u201cFor this reason, Russian intelligence services use Austria not only as an operational base but also as a planning and fallback location for intelligence activities throughout Europe,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger and her liberal Neos party have frequently called for taking a tougher stance on Russian espionage in Austria, including calling for an overhaul of Austria\u2019s espionage legislation.<\/p>\n