VIENNA, April 1. /TASS/. Unreasonable expulsions of Russian diplomats from Vienna have become a regrettable tradition and reflect the current Austrian authorities' policy of breaking relations with Moscow, Russia’s ambassador to Austria Dmitry Lyubinsky has told TASS following the expulsion of two diplomats in mid-March.
"Once again, to our great regret, the groundless expulsions of Russian diplomats are becoming a deplorable tradition, indeed, reflecting the course of the current ruling elite in Vienna toward the final dismantling of our once exceptionally constructive bilateral relations. I cannot but regard this as a completely conscious choice, however, to an extent resulting from the factor of external pressure," Lyubinsky said.
He remarked that the proximity of the dates when the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Austria was announced and the US secretary of state visited the country was hardly a coincidence.
"The groundless statement to us it was a forced decision, made a couple of days before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Vienna, speaks for itself. We also paid attention to the fact that it was on the day of the US secretary of state's arrival that an unprecedented orchestrated information campaign to discredit the Russian presidential election was launched here, which, however, failed, like everywhere else," Lyubinsky said.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry told TASS on March 13 that it had decided to expel two Russian diplomats. It argued that the embassy staff allegedly "committed actions incompatible with their diplomatic status." The Russian embassy said that Vienna had not presented evidence of any violations by the diplomats. Blinken arrived in Austria on a visit on March 15.