13:10 05.02.2014

Austria officially denies that Azarov, Arbuzov and Kliuyev have Austrian passports

2 min read
Austria officially denies that Azarov, Arbuzov and Kliuyev have Austrian passports

The Austrian Embassy in Ukraine has officially denied reports that former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, acting Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov and Presidential Administration Head Andriy Kliuyev have obtained Austrian citizenship.

"Referring to your request, the Austrian Embassy in Ukraine, on behalf of Austrian Ambassador to Ukraine Mr. Wolf Dietrich Heim, sends such a refutation to you: The report that these persons are citizens of Austria has not been confirmed," reads a response of the Austrian Embassy in Kyiv to a respective inquiry from Interfax-Ukraine.

As reported, the co-chair of the Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament, Rebecca Harms, said on Wednesday that a number of Ukrainian officials, including Presidential Administration Head Andriy Kliuyev, former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and acting Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov have Austrian citizenship. All of them have already denied these allegations in relation to themselves.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on foreign politicians not to make irresponsible statements and not to circulate inaccurate information so as not to complicate the political situation in Ukraine.

Later Harms explained that her statement about Ukrainian politicians having Austrian passports had been somewhat distorted and that she talked about the fact that these individuals may have Austrian citizenship.

According to Austrian newspaper Vienna Times, in Austria people who invest in property or business are also eligible to receive passports. Under the law of this country, by investing their funds in Austria, foreigners have the right to obtain a residence permit, which can later be exchanged for Austrian citizenship. At the same time, according to the newspaper, the applicants do not need to have any skills, but they need to have a provable income of more than EUR 3,500 a month.

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