Austria has come under heavy criticism for granting visas to allow sanctioned Russian lawmakers to attend a Vienna meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, The Associated Press reported.

The move underscores the delicate balancing act the European country has resorted to as it tries to maintain its longstanding position of military neutrality during the war in Ukraine, the media noted.

Austria is home to several UN agencies and international organizations, such as the OSCE, which was created during the Cold War as a forum for dialogue between East and West. Russia is one of 57 North American, European and Asian countries that participate in the Vienna-based organization.

Russia plans to send delegates to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly meeting Feb. 23-24, including 15 Russian lawmakers under European Union sanctions. Among them are State Duma Deputy Chairman Pyotr Tolstoy and parliamentary colleague Leonid Slutsky.

In a letter to the Austrian chancellor, foreign minister and other officials, 81 OSCE delegates from 20 countries, including France, Canada, Britain, Poland and Ukraine, called on the Austrian government to ban the participation of sanctioned Russians.