VIENNA — Austria said on Wednesday it has ordered two diplomats from Russia’s Embassy in Vienna to leave the country. An Austrian official said the expulsions were related to spying activities.
The Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement that the two Russian diplomats had “engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status” and have been declared “personae non gratae.”
It provided no further details about the actions of the two. They were given until March 19 to leave Austria.
An Austrian official with knowledge of the matter said the expulsions were related to spying. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the expulsions.
The Russian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Western European nations and Russia have expelled each others’ diplomats on several occasions since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Austria, a European Union member that has a policy of military neutrality and hosts several U.N. agencies in its capital of Vienna, was initially hesitant to take such action but has recently expelled more Russian diplomats.
It expelled four Russian diplomats in April 2022 after pressure from the public and the EU, and another four in February 2023. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it expelled one Russian diplomat in August 2020.