Austrian Ambassador to Moscow Johannes Eigner has arrived at the Russian foreign ministry. The diplomat was summoned following Vienna’s charges against a retired Austrian officer accusing him of spying for Russia.
The ambassador entered the ministry’s building giving no comment to journalists’ questions, TASS reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov promised earlier in the day to draw the Austrian diplomat’s attention to "which methods are to be used should they [Austria] have any questions to Russia."
Austria’s law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into a case of a 70-yeal-old retired Austrian colonel who is suspected of working for Russian intelligence since the 1990s and providing Moscow with information about Austria’s air force, artillery and the migration crisis. If the man is found guilty, he may face a prison term of up to ten years.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said earlier on Friday that Foreign Minister Kneissl had cancelled her visit to Russia and summoned Russian diplomats to clarify the situation over the spying allegations.
