Austria said on Friday it suspected a senior army officer had been spying for Moscow for decades, a move that sparked tension between Russia and its closest allies in the European Union.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Cortes told a news conference that he suspected Kolonella, who was not identified, began working with Russian intelligence in the 1990s and continued until 2018, AFP reported.
The Austrian Foreign Minister, Karen Kniessel, summoned the Russian chargé d'affaires in Vienna on the background of the case and canceled a planned visit to Russia.
Austria is among the few European Union countries that have not expelled Russian diplomats following the poisoning of former spy Sergey Scrippel and his daughter in Britain in March, in which London accuses Moscow of being behind it.
"If these conditions are confirmed, whether in Austria or the Netherlands, it does not allow for improved relations between Russia and the European Union," he said.
Kurtz referred to the Dutch expulsion of four Russian intelligence agents in April on suspicion of planning an electronic attack on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.
"Russian espionage in Europe is unacceptable and must be condemned," Kurtz said.
For his part, said Austrian Defense Minister Mario Konasik, at the same press conference, the issue unfolded "a few weeks ago," following information from another European intelligence agency.
The authorities referred the case to the Public Prosecutor's Office and began investigating the officer.
Fast Russian response
Moscow's response to Vienna's accusations was not delayed, as the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned its Austrian ambassador, Russian news agencies reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was disappointed with Vienna's allegations, adding that Moscow knew nothing of the accused officer.
