Russia says Austria's spy accusation groundless

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Europe

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday told Austrian ambassador to Russia Johannes Aigner that Vienna's accusation that a retired Austrian colonel spied for Russia is based on suspicion without any evidence.

The ministry said in a statement that it summoned Aigner and expressed a protest after Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said earlier in the day that his country is investigating a retired colonel who allegedly worked for the Russian intelligence since the 1990s.

Austria's Ambassador to Russia Johannes Aigner arrives at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he has been summoned, November 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

Vienna's moves have complicated the Russian-Austrian relations, which until recently had a positive dynamic, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl who danced with Russian President Vladimir Putin at her wedding in August, summoned the Russian representative in Austria over the alleged spy case and canceled an upcoming trip to Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at an earlier press conference that Austria failed to follow the norms of diplomacy when it made public the case before consulting Moscow.

Austria's Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl dances with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at her wedding in Gamlitz, Austria, August 18, 2018. /VCG Photo

Western countries "have made it a rule to resort not to traditional diplomacy with the observance of all decencies but to use megaphone policy, blaming us publicly and demanding that we give a public explanation of things which we do not know about," he said.

Vienna: Austrian colonel spied for Russia for decades

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said earlier that the recently retired officer, who he did not name, may have carried out spying activities since the 1990s.

The case has been referred to prosecutors, Kurz and Defence Minister Mario Kunasek said.

Issues of interest to the officer or his alleged handlers included weapons systems and migration, Kunasek said, adding that it was not clear whether the case was an isolated one.

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz arrives for an Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) at the European Council in Brussels, October 19, 2018. /VCG Photo

Kurz told reporters: "If the suspicion is confirmed, such cases... do not improve relations between Russia and the European Union."

He was referring to the expulsion of four Russian agents by the Netherlands in April for allegedly planning a cyber-attack on the world's chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague.

"Russian spying in Europe is unacceptable and to be condemned," Kurz added. Austrian Defence Minister Mario Kunasek told the press conference that the case came to light "a few weeks ago" as a result of information from another European intelligence agency.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Top image: Sebastian Kurz, Austria's Chancellor, delivers a speech during the European People's Party congress in Helsinki, Finland, November 8, 2018. /VCG Photo )