Austria critical of countries recalling embassy staff from Ukraine
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg is critical of countries removing their diplomats from the Ukrainian capital Kiev over the threat of a Russian invasion.
“I think it sends a dubious signal to the people of Ukraine to take your own diplomats out first,” Schallenberg said. The minister plans to leave the staff at the Austrian embassy in Kiev “as long as possible in this volatile phase, for as long as it can be justified in any way.”
In recent days, several countries decided to bring back embassy personnel, including the Netherlands. A “minimal occupation” remains in Kiev, the foreign ministry said last weekend. The United States and Australia have also withdrawn their diplomats.
The Austrian minister also criticized US President Joe Biden, who had warned of the danger of a world war over the situation in Ukraine. That kind of language is, according to the Austrian, “extremely dangerous”.