Suspected espionage: a former federal army officer arrested – news.ORF.at

The accused was arrested on Saturday night in Upper Austria and is currently in detention. He will be interviewed in detail. Subsequently, a possible detention on remand would have been requested, said the prosecutor. The claim could be justified by the danger of a crime and, if necessary, by the risk of escape.

On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and Defense Minister Mario Kunasek (FPÖ) had informed that a colonel today retired from the Austrian armed forces, during his activity in the USSR. Army, spying on Russia for about 20 years. "Spying is unacceptable and Russian spying in Europe is also unacceptable," Kurz said. The reference to the man came from an outside service.

Kneissl's visit to Moscow canceled

According to Kurz, the espionage activity in the room had started in the 90's and lasted until 2018. According to Kunasek, the suspect has been retired for five years. On several occasions, the Chancellor spoke of "suspicion", but in front of other cases of Russian espionage in Europe, he badumed that "the suspicion was confirmed". It is also out of the question that it "will not improve" relations with Russia. The visit to Moscow scheduled for early December by FPÖ Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has already been canceled.

Kneissl rejects Lavrov's accusation

The conflict with Russia continued on Saturday. Kneissl dismissed in the phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov the accusation of "megaphone diplomacy". Lavrov had used this phrase in the context of alleged Austrian espionage. "The approach of the Austrian Federal Government is based on clear facts," Kneissl said, according to a statement sent to the APA.

"These are penally important events that have made the intervention of the forces of order and the prompt information of the indispensable public," said the minister today to Lavrov. "This espionage case is an unacceptable interference in domestic affairs," Kneissl said on suspicion. "We expect from the investigation with the case the full cooperation of the Russian side," said the minister, according to his statement.

Moscow sees telephone conversation differently

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported in the afternoon a press release following a phone call. Kneissl and Lavrov discussed during a telephone conversation the current state of Russian-Austrian relations, resulting from allegations of the Austrian government that a former army employee allegedly spied for the Russia, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow.

"Mr Kneissl explained the reasons for the decisions taken in Vienna and expressed the hope that the measures taken would not affect the development of bilateral cooperation," the statement said.

For its part, the Russian side emphasized that the practice of publicly gathering unproven allegations went against the norms of international communication and was unacceptable. All reciprocal concerns were based on facts and transmitted through existing channels of dialogue, the Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated, concluding that other bilateral issues had also been discussed.