The Italian government has decided to expel two military attaches from the Russian embassy in Italy, who authorities say were involved in espionage, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, quoted by ANSA and Reuters, BTA reported.
Earlier this week, two people were arrested on charges of passing classified information to a Russian agent. According to the prosecutor's office, the main suspect is a former carabinieri officer.
Five more people are also under investigation.
"The Italian government has decided to expel two military attaches from the embassy of the Russian Federation in Italy, who are responsible for the espionage revealed in the investigation by the prosecutor's office in Rome," Tajani said in Ex. "The Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry has just informed the Russian ambassador in Rome that Ivan Petrovich Gorbachev and Mikhail Vasilievich Astakhov must leave Rome within three days."
"Moscow continues to use its hybrid means to attack the West and Italy," Tajani added.
"This is a serious and unacceptable interference in Italian institutions and national security."
Russia will react to Italy's decision to expel its attaches, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by the state news agency RIA.
The Rome prosecutor's office said on Tuesday that two people, including a former member of the Italian intelligence services, had been arrested on suspicion of passing classified information to a Russian agent.