Brandstätter/Krisper: “It can’t stay with two expulsions. Russian diplomats in Austria must be reduced to the necessary minimum.”
Vienna (OTS) – “It is high time for the ÖVP and the Greens to take more decisive action against Russian espionage on Austrian soil,” said NEOS foreign policy spokesman and EU leading candidate Helmut Brandstätter after it became known that the Foreign Ministry had declared two Russian diplomats persona non grata. “Most EU countries immediately expelled diplomatic and technical embassy staff from the country on a large scale immediately after Putin’s attack on Ukraine, except Orban’s Hungary and Austria. And this despite the fact that it is an open secret that around a third of the embassy staff are likely to be spies. A diplomatic channel to Russia needs a maximum of a handful of diplomats.”
The lack of vehemence in diplomatic measures towards Russia is also reflected in the fact that “the Russian cultural institute in Vienna is still not closed,” said Brandstätter – “and that after it became known that Putin representative Mikhail Schwydkoj was only there at the beginning of the week had as a guest”.
Clarification required
“How can it be that someone from Putin’s closest circle can simply enter Austria unmolested?” asks NEOS spokeswoman for internal affairs Stephanie Krisper. “It’s not just this case that urgently needs clarification. The fact that the Foreign Ministry is pushing data protection here is a farce. Who issued the visa? Who else received visas since the start of the war? To what extent do you pay attention to which Russians you let into the country?”
Krisper wants all of these open questions answered tomorrow in the Standing Subcommittee of the Interior Committee (“Intelligence Committee”), including from the DSN. The catalog of questions focuses on the topics of Jan Marsalek, espionage and political influence on the part of Russia. Krisper: “It is an unbearable situation that spies generally have the perception that they can operate unmolested in Austria. Our government is acting far too discouraged here and is causing a serious security risk.”
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