Italy orders two officials at Russian embassy be expelled for spying
Italy has ordered two Russian embassy officials be expelled and arrested an Italian navy captain on spying charges after police caught him allegedly giving classified documents to one of the Russians in exchange for money.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said it summoned Russian ambassador Sergey Razov, and protested over the "grave incident" after a sting operation on the outskirts of Rome allegedly caught the Italian and one of the Russians in what police said was a "clandestine operation" to exchange the documents.
Italy's paramilitary police said in a statement that the Italian naval officer, a frigate captain, had been arrested.
The Russian observed with him, a member of the Russian armed forces stationed at the embassy in Italy, was initially detained but not immediately placed under arrest given his diplomatic status.
He was ordered expelled with another embassy official who was allegedly involved, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said in a Facebook post. Mr Di Maio did not provide details about the suspected role of the second Russian.
The carabinieri del Ros special operations group swooped on the men in Rome on Tuesday evening "during a clandestine meeting between the two," a police statement said.
They were "caught immediately after the transfer of a document by the Italian officer in exchange for a sum of money", it added.
Italian media reported that the exchange had taken place in a car park and involved £4,250 in cash.
While the navy captain was arrested, Italian police said the Russian officer's diplomatic status was currently being assessed.
The force said both were accused of "serious crimes concerning espionage and state security".
Italy's Corriere website reports that papers seized in the naval officer's flat suggest he may have passed on Nato secrets, thereby placing other countries' national security at risk. According to the Ansa news agency, the documents involved military communications.
The Russian embassy confirmed the involvement of a military attaché official but said any further comment was inappropriate. The Russian embassy in Rome confirmed the detention of a diplomat who was part of the military attache's office but would not comment on the incident.
"In any case, we hope that it wouldn't affect bilateral ties," it said in a statement.
Speaking in a conference call with reporters, Russian
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was unaware of details of the incident, but added: "We hope that the quite positive and constructive character of the Russian-italian relations will be preserved."
The Russian Foreign Ministry voiced regret about the diplomats' expulsion in a terse statement carried by Russian news agencies.
It is expected to respond to the expulsions and added that "possible steps in connection with the situation that doesn't conform with the level of bilateral ties will be announced later".