Austria expels 4 Russian diplomats: foreign ministry

VIENNA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Austria has decided to expel four Russian diplomats accredited in Vienna, the Austrian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

This photo taken on Aug. 8, 2023 shows a view of Schonbrunn and its garden in Vienna, Austria. (Photo: Xinhua)

Among the four diplomats, three members from the Russian embassy had carried out activities "incompatible with their diplomatic status," and each had been declared "persona non grata," said the ministry.

The fourth diplomat, who was from the Russian delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, was responsible for military security and arms control, and was also declared "persona non grata."

As a legal term, "persona non grata" refers to the practice of a state prohibiting a diplomat from entering the country as a diplomat.

On the Russian side, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lubinsky said on Friday that a reaction would "inevitably" follow.