The Austrian government has announced that it summons the Russian ambassador to the country, Mikhail Ulyanov, over a controversial Twitter message in which he wrote “No mercy for the Ukrainian people” before qualifying that he was in fact accusing the Ukrainian authorities of rejecting any diplomatic efforts to end the war. Ulyanov reacted on Twitter to a news story about the new military aid package announced by the United States with the aforementioned message. Ulyanov’s arguments have not convinced the Austrian authorities. “We are outraged by the inhuman statements of the Russian Permanent Representative and his attempts to put into perspective what cannot be put into perspective,” a spokeswoman for the Austrian Foreign Ministry has made known in a written statement picked up by ORF. “While the Ministry defends freedom of expression, it is also free to resolutely oppose such inflammatory statements,” the spokeswoman added before confirming that the ambassador is summoned on Sunday. (https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/austria-summons-russian-ambassador-for-tweeting-no-mercy-for-the-ukrainian-people/ar-AA10SrQI) The ambassador, also his country’s representative to international institutions in Vienna, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), shortly afterwards deleted the tweet and claimed that his intention was to accuse Kiev of ignoring the population and “categorically rejecting diplomatic efforts to focus exclusively on the Western arms buildup.”
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