Austrian government bans Russian OSCE delegation from attending a ball in Vienna

According to the Austrian government, the Russian parliamentarians, who are expected to attend an OSCE meeting in Vienna at the end of the week, are not allowed to go to an FPÖ ball. The visas for the Russians were only issued for participation in the conference and for no other events, emphasized the Federal Minister for the EU and the Constitution, Karoline Edtstadler, on Tuesday in Brussels.

The Foreign Ministry has also made it unmistakably clear that they will ensure compliance with the rules and act in the event of violations. The Russian side took note of this, explained Edtstadler. The head of the Russian delegation, Pjotr ​​Tolstoy, told the Austrian news agency last weekend APA explains that the delegation does not plan to go to the ball.

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The planned participation of Russian politicians in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been the subject of discussion among Western representatives for days. Recently it was speculated that the Russian participants could also take part in the so-called Academic Ball of the FPÖ in the Vienna Hofburg on Friday evening. The conservative party had repeatedly criticized the EU sanctions against Moscow.

Ukrainian MPs have announced that they will boycott the OSCE conference, which begins on Thursday, because of Russia’s participation. But they still want to go to Vienna and consult with partners on how the OSCE can get out of its crisis, it said. Founded in 1995, the organization is the largest European security organization.

MPs from 20 countries had previously tried to prevent Austria from issuing visas to the Russian delegation. Edtstadler said on Monday that it was “Austria’s obligation” to issue the relevant visas. She added:

“Because we’re talking about an international organization that has its headquarters in Austria and where you also have to enable the members to take part.”

At meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly in 2022, the hosts Great Britain and Poland had not allowed Russian participants to enter the country.

(rt/dpa)

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