Russia expels Austrian diplomat in retaliatory move

VIENNA, April 12 (KUNA) -- Russian Foreign Ministry, on Friday, declared Austrian employee at the Moscow embassy "persona non grata", expelling him from the country in a retaliatory move.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that that the expelled Austrian diplomat has to leave Russia by April 18.
The Austrian Ambassador to Russia Werner Almhofer was summoned Thursday to protest the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Vienna on account of espionage allegations, read the statement.
The Ministry also indicated that the "unfriendly and unjustified step caused serious damage to bilateral relations, which are already in crisis due to the actions of the Austrian side, and to the international authority of Vienna, which previously positioned itself as an unbiased, neutral state and a platform for international diplomacy," (end) amg.ao