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Kremlin hopes apprehension of Russian diplomat not to affect relations of Moscow, Rome

The Kremlin has no information about the reasons or circumstances of this apprehension, according to the spokesman

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Kremlin is currently unaware of details of apprehension of the Russian military attache’s office employee, but hopes for preservation of positive relations with Italy.

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Italy expels two Russian diplomats

"We do not currently have any information about the reasons or circumstances of this apprehension," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Wednesday.

"However, in any case, we hope that the very positive and constructive nature of the Russian-Italian relations will continue and will be preserved," the spokesman said.

On Wednesday, Russian Embassy in Italy confirmed that an employee of the military attache’s office was apprehended in Roma, adding that the circumstances of the incident are being investigated.

Earlier, the Italian Carbinieri’s Special Operations Group (ROS) announced that, under the order of the Rome Prosecutor’s Office, and Italian serviceman and a Russian officer were apprehended in the Italian capital. According to the ROS statement, the Italian citizen was taken into custody, while "the Russian citizen was being checked for diplomatic status."

According to ROS, the apprehension took place on Tuesday, during the handover of confidential papers in exchange for monetary reward.

"The apprehended are an [Italian] Navy captain and a Russian embassy employee, charged with espionage and a threatening state security," the statement says. Commenting on the incident, Russian Ambassador to Italy Sergey Razov was summoned to the Italian Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of two embassy employees.

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