Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Vienna. File photoVIENNA, Apr 19 The Austrian Foreign Ministry called Russia's decision to expel four Austrian diplomats unreasonable, and regrets it, according to a widespread statement from the ministry. Russia declared persona non grata of four employees of the Austrian Embassy in response, they must leave Russian territory before the end of the day on April 24, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The expulsion of the Austrian embassy staff from Russia did not come as a surprise. We regret this unreasonable decision by Russia, which has no factual basis,» the Austrian Foreign Ministry said in a Twitter statement. conventions on diplomatic relations The functionality of the embassy is preserved, especially in the interests of Austrian citizens in Russia and to maintain communication channels,» the ministry noted. On April 7, the Austrian Foreign Ministry declared persona non grata of three employees of the embassy in Vienna and one employee of the consulate general in Salzburg, they were ordered to leave the territory of the republic before the end of the day on April 12. According to Russian Ambassador to Austria Dmitry Lyubinsky, the Austrian Foreign Ministry did not provide evidence of the illegal activities of Russian diplomats, who were declared persona non grata under this pretext. Foreign Ministry summoned the Luxembourg ambassador due to the expulsion of a diplomat
