MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, commenting on the reaction of Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani to the expulsion of the Italian military attache and his assistant from Russia, said that Italy shouldn't pretend it doesn't know what reciprocity is.
He also said that Germany's nuclear weapons research comes as no surprise, and Russia should take this into account in its military planning.
TASS has compiled the key statements made by the deputy foreign minister.
Italy's reaction
Italy and its Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani are familiar with the principle of reciprocity, no matter what they say: "We have made a corresponding statement, and it makes everything crystal clear. In diplomacy and foreign policy, there is a principle of reciprocity. I believe that the the Italian foreign minister is privy to this principle."
Possible contacts with the Germany, France, UK envoys
The ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Germany, and France have not requested a new meeting with top Russian diplomats: "There has not been one."
EU nations are on strict orders to curb political contacts with Russia as much as is possible: "If we don't talk about technical contacts, it's clear that they strictly follow the instructions developed within the European Union to limit political contacts with the Russian Federation as much as possible."
Germany's desire to acquire nuclear weapons
We have recently seen significant changes in the legislation of a number of countries that are moving towards the possibility of hosting US and other nuclear weapons on their territories."
Germany's nuclear weapons research is not surprising: "What the Federal Republic of Germany is doing is absolutely unsurprising, especially considering the country's high technological and industrial potential."
Russia needs to take this into account in its military planning: "Of course, these are realities that we need to consider in our military strategy."
"We see that this line is generally aligned with the overall line of the West, particularly NATO countries, which is consistently strengthening the role of the nuclear component not only in military strategies but also in military planning.".