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Russian embassy outraged by Austria’s decision to expel Russian diplomat

On Monday, Austrian Foreign Ministry told TASS that the state authorities decided to expel a Russian diplomat, claiming that his activities contradict the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations

VIENNA, August 24. /TASS/. Russian Embassy is outraged by the Austrian authorities’ decision to expel a Russian diplomat and it is certain that Moscow’s symmetrical response will follow promptly, the Embassy told TASS Monday.

"We are outraged by the Austrian authorities’ unfounded decision, harmful for constructive Russian-Austrian relations. We are certain that Moscow’s symmetrical response will follow promptly," the Embassy said.

On Monday, Austrian Foreign Ministry told TASS that the state authorities decided to expel a Russian diplomat, claiming that his activities contradict the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry refrained from commenting on details of the incident.

On Monday, the Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported that Austria declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata, and that the diplomat must leave its territory until September 1. According to the newspaper, the diplomat is suspected of industrial espionage.

According to the Kronen Zeitung, the diplomat is suspected of gathering information through an Austrian citizen working at one of Austria’s high-tech enterprises. The citizen reported the espionage activities himself and named the Russian diplomat as his curator. The Russian citizen declined to comment, citing his diplomatic immunity, the report says.

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