MOSCOW—Russia said on Thursday it was expelling four Austrian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move after Vienna expelled four Russian diplomats in a case which appeared to be related to spying.
Austria said on Feb. 2 it was expelling four Russian diplomats for behaving in a manner inconsistent with international agreements, a reason often invoked in spying cases, without giving specifics. It gave them a week to leave.
In a statement on Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Vienna had taken an “unfriendly and unjustified step” and was ruining Austria’s previous position as a respected, unbiased, and neutral state.
Austria still has not elaborated on its reasons for expelling the diplomats, who worked at Russia’s Mission to the United Nations in Vienna and Russia’s Embassy to Austria….