MOSCOW. Feb 16 (Interfax) - Four employees of the Austrian embassy in Moscow have been declared persona non grata, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Austrian Ambassador in Moscow Werner Almhofer was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday and was handed a note of protest over Vienna's declaration of four employees of Russian diplomatic missions in the Republic of Austria as persona non grata, the Foreign Ministry said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the step causes serious damage to bilateral relations.
"As a countermeasure, four staff members of the Embassy of the Republic of Austria in the Russian Federation are declared persona non grata. They should leave the country by the end of the day on February 23. The ambassador has been handed a relevant note," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on its website.
"The ambassador's attention was also drawn to the current difficulties with the issuance of visas for Russian official delegations traveling to Vienna to participate in multilateral events, which contravenes Austria's commitments as a venue for international meetings. This situation will also not remain without consequences," the statement said.
On February 2, it was reported that the Austrian Foreign Ministry decided to expel four Russian diplomats from the country.
"The two diplomats of the Russian Embassy have engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status. Therefore, they are declared personae non gratae," the Austrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Austrian authorities also expelled two diplomats working at the Russian Permanent Mission to International Organizations in Vienna.