After Russian OMV Espionage: Austrian Diplomat Expelled from Russia

A spokesperson for the ministry stated that Austria was informed on Tuesday about the expulsion of an embassy staff member from Russia and emphasized: "We regret this unjustified decision by Russia, which lacks any factual basis." The staff member had fulfilled her duties in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Despite the reduction to six deployed employees, the functionality of the embassy, especially in the interest of Austrian citizens in Russia and to maintain dialogue channels, remains assured.

Expulsion of Austrian Diplomat a Traditional Russian Step

"We traditionally respond to such steps. The Austrian side has already been informed about countermeasures," the state Russian news agency TASS quoted a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying on Tuesday afternoon. Specifically, the expulsion of an Austrian of comparable rank to the Russian diplomat declared undesirable in Austria was announced.

The affected Russian left on September 24, according to Austrian information, one day before a "persona non grata" declaration against him took effect. Previously, the Russian embassy had refused to waive the diplomatic immunity of its employee, thus preventing investigations against him. The Austrian steps were related to an investigation that, according to the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, was initiated at the end of August against a now former OMV employee on suspicion of espionage of a business or trade secret for the benefit of a foreign country and suspicion of secret intelligence to the detriment of Austria.

No Arrest Warrant for Suspect in OMV Espionage

The employee of the oil, gas, and chemical company had reportedly met repeatedly with the now undesirable Russian diplomat, according to a report by the news magazine "Profil," and was observed by the Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence Service (DSN). During a house search of the OMV employee, who also had insights into the activities of OMV co-owner Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), numerous internal documents of the Austrian company were found, it was reported. After the espionage allegations became known, OMV parted ways with its employee, who remains at large. "An arrest warrant was not issued by the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office," a spokesperson for the authorities explained to APA on Wednesday.

(APA/Red)

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