The Austrian government said on the 4t of May that it had declared three Russian diplomats personae non grata over the large number of satellite antennas on the roofs of diplomatic buildings that could potentially be used for espionage, Reuters reports.
Austria’s domestic intelligence service has long been concerned about the antennas on the roofs of buildings used by Russia in Vienna, particularly those housing the diplomatic corps. The service has warned for years that the antennas could be used to intercept other countries’ satellite communications.
In a statement confirming that the three diplomats had already left the country, Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger also said that the use of diplomatic immunity to spy was unacceptable. As a result, Austria has expelled 14 Russian diplomats since 2020.
The Russian embassy in Vienna published a statement on its website, stating that the expelled diplomats were embassy representatives and had worked for the Russian mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Moscow said it will react sharply to Austria’s “completely unfounded” decision.
When asked why the antennas posed a particular risk, Sylvia Mayer, head of Austria’s State Security and Intelligence Directorate, told a press conference that it had to do with the size and type of the antennas, and did not provide further comments on why the expulsions had taken place at this particular time.
Vienna is an important diplomatic center in Europe, and has been chosen as the headquarters of both the OSCE and UN organizations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Major countries establish separate diplomatic missions to Austria, the OSCE and UN organizations, and each has its own embassy. Vienna, in turn, has long had a reputation as a spy capital. Extensive diplomatic missions also create the opportunity to deploy spies under the guise of diplomatic immunity.
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