Moscow, May 18 (Agency) Ukraine’s embassy in Austria attempted to recruit foreign mercenaries to fight against the Russian military in Ukraine on its official Facebook (banned in Russia) page and deleted controversial posts only after the Russian embassy lodged a protest, Russian Ambassador in Vienna Dmitry Lyubinsky said. “The Kleine Zeitung newspaper reported on the response of Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg to a parliamentary request of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO). This report proves that the Ukrainian embassy in Vienna attempted to recruit Austrian mercenaries in early March of this year for participation in military activities against Russian people on its Facebook account,” Lyubinsky said on his social media.
In response to the parliamentary request, the chief of protocol of the Austrian foreign ministry reportedly immediately informed the Ukrainian ambassador that such activities violate the Austrian legislation, citing the Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the ambassador said. The recruitment calls were quickly deleted from the Ukrainian embassy’s accounts shortly after, Lyubinsky added. None of the embassy’s diplomats were held accountable for the violation, Lyubinsky said. He further noted that the measures to delete the inappropriate posts were taken only after the Russian embassy in Vienna interfered and lodged a protest with the Austrian foreign ministry.