Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (L) and Defense Minister Mario Kunasek give a press conference in Vienna, Austria, on November 9, 2018, to comment on the case of a retired colonel in the Austrian army suspected of having spied for Russia for several decades. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday discussed the recent alleged espionage scandal with his Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl over the phone and said any unfounded charge is unacceptable.

"The Russian side emphasized the unacceptability of the practice of raising public unsubstantiated accusations, which is against the norms of international communication," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"It was emphasized that any possible mutual concerns should be discussed through established channels of dialogue and on the basis of facts," it added.

On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Austrian law enforcement agencies are investigating a retired colonel who allegedly worked for the Russian intelligence since the 1990s until this year.

In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Vienna's accusation is based on groundless suspicion and that Austria failed to follow the norms of diplomacy when it made public the case before consulting Moscow.

During the phone conversation, Kneissl explained Vienna's motives in making certain decisions and expressed her hope that the incident would not affect relations between Austria and Russia, according to the statement.

A number of other issues on the bilateral agenda were also discussed, it said.

Earlier on Friday, Kneissl summoned the Russian representative in Austria over the alleged spy case and canceled her upcoming visit to Russia.