Open Letter to Austria to Disinvite Russian Delegation

The letter, from which Die Presse quoted on Thursday, called on the federal government not to issue entry visas to Russian MPs who are under international sanctions. The State Department today received the letter. "We expect that decisions will be made that prevent their participation," says the letter sent to Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, and National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka as well as Federal Council President Guenter Kovacs and Margareta Cederfelt, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The involvement of Russian MPs exactly one year after the "criminal invasion" of Ukraine could be seen as a "provocation," the argument goes. According to Die Presse, OSCE delegates from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, France, Georgia, Great Britain, Iceland, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Ukraine signed the letter.

According to Vienna.at, The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will take place on 23-24. February in Vienna. The Foreign Ministry argues that it cannot refuse entry to the Russian delegation because of an agreement with the OSCE. February 24 marks the first anniversary of Russia's attack on Ukraine. As a result, Austria, as the host country, has committed itself to make it possible for participants to travel to the conference venue. The OSCE is also responsible for choosing the place and time of the conference, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. "It is not an invitation from the Austrian federal government," it said. The issuing of visas to persons taking part in the conference is not a question of political discretion, but a question of existing obligations under international law, it said again regarding the OSCE Headquarters Agreement.

Foreign Ministry's Expulsion and Statements

As Vindobona reported, The Foreign Ministry had previously expelled four Russian diplomats. "Two diplomats from the Russian embassy have taken actions inconsistent with their diplomatic status" and have been "declared personae non gratae," the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Two diplomats from the Permanent Mission to the United Nations were also asked to leave Austria. They had committed acts incompatible with the Headquarters Agreement, it said.

According to ORF, Russia criticized the measure as “purely politically motivated” and announced countermeasures to be taken soon. No evidence of a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations has been presented, Russian Ambassador to Austria Dmitri Ljublinski said in a statement sent to APA. He accused Austria of "deliberately bringing down our once constructive bilateral relations and channels of dialogue". In any case, the number of Russian diplomats remains high. According to the Foreign Ministry, 181 diplomats from Russia are currently accredited, 77 of them at the Russian Embassy, four at the Russian Consulate General in Salzburg, and the others at the multilateral representations of the Russian Federation at the OSCE and the international organizations in Vienna.

The Russia expert Gerhard Mangott linked the expulsion on Thursday with the diplomatically sensitive upcoming OSCE conference in Vienna. “The expulsion of the Russian diplomats may well be justified. But it probably also has to do with the fact that Austria will allow Russian representatives to enter the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly despite the travel bans – for which Austria has been heavily criticized,” Mangott said on Twitter. "With the expulsion of the diplomats, one can now counter the accusation that one is pro-Russian," analyzed the political scientist, as Vindobona reported.

In a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is also available to ORF, the political scientist's assumption was rejected: "The issue of visas to Russian parliamentarians is an obligation under international law that arises from the headquarters agreement with the OSCE. The expulsion of four Russian diplomats has nothing to do with this. This is a step that we felt compelled to take to protect national interests.” Foreign Minister Schallenberg confirmed this again on Thursday: “Austria has an obligation under international law,” he said. As the seat of government, international delegations must be able to take part in conferences. "I will certainly not commit a breach of international law."

The OSCE Responds Differently

The choice of meeting place and time is the responsibility of the OSCE, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized on Thursday. "It is not an invitation from the Austrian federal government," it said. The issuing of visas to persons taking part in the conference is not a question of political discretion, but a question of existing obligations under international law, it said again about the OSCE Headquarters Agreement. As a result, Austria, as the host country, has committed itself to make it possible for participants to travel to the conference venue. This obligation also includes members of the Russian State Duma or the Federation Council, who are subject to EU sanctions. The visa will only be issued for the Austrian federal territory and only for the duration of the winter session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and one day of arrival and departure, according to ORF.

Also reported on ORF, when questioned on Thursday, the OSCE said the enforcement of sanctions is determined at the national level and each government has the discretion to control its borders. Governments hosting OSCE General Assembly meetings have in the past occasionally refused to issue entry visas to sanctioned Russians. However, Austria had concluded that its obligations as the host country of the OSCE required that delegates from international organizations be granted visas to attend official meetings, it said. Regarding the date of the meeting on the anniversary of the Russian attack, the OSCE said: “The date of the 2023 winter meeting was not specifically chosen to coincide with the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. The winter meeting is always scheduled for the end of February.”