VIENNA, May 4. /TASS/. The Russian embassy in Austria called the expulsion of three Russian diplomats a politically motivated move, holding Vienna responsible for the further deterioration of bilateral relations.
"We have taken note of the outrageous decision by the Austrian Foreign Ministry to declare Russian embassy and OSCE mission employees personae non gratae. We consider this latest unfriendly move by the Austrian authorities to be completely unjustified, purely politically motivated, and categorically unacceptable," the embassy said in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.
"As in previous similar cases, we have not been presented with any evidence, let alone proof, of alleged violations of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the diplomats added.
"Moscow’s harsh response to these utterly thoughtless actions by the Austrian side will undoubtedly follow. Vienna bears full responsibility for the further deterioration of bilateral relations, which are already at their lowest point in modern history," the embassy concluded.