Russia’s Foreign Ministry has vowed to issue an “inevitable” response to Austria expelling four of its diplomats, the state-run TASS news agency reported Friday.

Austria’s foreign ministry said earlier that it declared the Vienna-based Russian diplomats personae non gratae over “activities incompatible with their diplomatic status,” a term usually used for spying.

“A response will follow inevitably,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky told TASS without providing further details.

Three of the expelled diplomats worked at Russia’s Embassy in Vienna and one at the Russian delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on military security and arms control, the Austrian ministry said.

The move brings the total number of Russian diplomats expelled in Austria over the past six years to 18. While Austria is a neutral country, politically its governments have sided with Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

In May, Austria expelled three Russian diplomats, citing an “antenna forest” on the roofs of Russian diplomatic buildings that could be used for spying.

Moscow routinely issues tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats from the host country’s embassy in Moscow.

Vienna is a major diplomatic center, hosting the OSCE and UN organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Reuters contributed reporting.

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