Austria Not Joining EU Bandwagon of Expelling Russian Diplomats

EU member countries have expelled 149 Russian diplomats in the last 48 hours, with the allegation of they are spies. Austria did not join in. Vienna’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said his government would expel diplomats only after the Austrian special services obtain evidence of them violating provisions of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations. He explained that Vienna is the headquarters of numerous international organizations, where Russian diplomats are working, and Austria does not want to obstruct the work of those organizations, according to TASS. He also said that if the Russians retaliate, “the Austrian embassy [in Moscow] will be forced to close its doors, and it will be no good for anyone.”