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Russia expels naval attache in Italian Embassy

The staffer is ordered to leave Russia within 24 hours

Italian Embassy in Moscow Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Italian Embassy in Moscow

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Moscow has retaliated to Rome’s decision to expel Russian diplomats from Italy by declaring an Italian naval attache persona non grata, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted in a statement Monday.

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Italy expels two Russian diplomats

"On April 26, Italian Ambassador to Moscow Pasquale Terracciano was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry where he was handed a note by the ministry saying that aide to the defense attache and naval attache in the Italian Embassy in Moscow C. Pacifici is declared persona non grata in response to the hostile and unfounded actions of the Italian authorities against the defense attache office of the Russian Embassy in Rome. The staffer is ordered to leave Russia within 24 hours," the ministry noted.

In turn, the Italian Foreign Ministry stressed that it views Moscow’s decision as groundless and unfair. "We are deeply disappointed with the Russian decision to expel a staffer of the attache office in the Moscow embassy with a 24-hour warning. We view this decision as unfounded and unfair because it is a response to the legitimate measure taken by Italian authorities in the interests of protecting our security," the ministry noted in a statement Monday.

On March 30, Italy’s special police forces detained an Italian officer from the national Defense Ministry’s General Staff along with a staffer of the Russian Embassy’s defense attache office as the two allegedly attempted to exchange confidential documents and a remuneration. On March 31, after the news broke out, the Italian Foreign Ministry invited the Russian ambassador to announce its decision to expel two staffers of the Russian Embassy in Rome. The attache officer staffer and the defense attache left the country on April 1.

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