Austria, now debating NATO membership, has been rocked by the discovery that Soviet intelligence planted secret weapons depots around the country for espionage activities during the Cold War.
Current affairs magazine Profil said Saturday a Soviet secret service (KGB) defector had revealed to German intelligence that several arms caches were hidden around neutral Austria at the height of U.S.-Soviet tensions."These weapons depots exist. There are lots of small units, suited for agent activity, attacks and sabotage," Michael Sika, director of Austrian public security, told Profil.
At least six depots were buried in the heart of southern Austria, according to the KGB informer. The first depot was set up in 1963 and the arsenals maintained until at least 1990.
Austrian officials said they were told of the existence of the arsenals last year but kept it secret to see if the depots were still in use.
"We researched the matter deliberately and carefully and did not dig up the depots as we wanted to see if they were still being kept up," Interior Minister Karl Schloegl said.
The caches will now be dismantled as quickly as possible, following the revelation, Schloegl said.
Conservative chief whip Andreas Khol said it was extraordinary that Austrian state police had to be informed of the depots' existence by foreign intelligence and then kept the government in the dark for a year.