Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he hoped that 'the very positive and constructive nature of Russian-Italian relations will continue and will be preserved.'

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow is currently embroiled in a series of rows with the West, most recently over the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, a move that triggered EU sanctions against senior Russian officials.īut Italy is one of the countries within the European Union and NATO with the warmest relations with Russia. Police said the suspected spy was discovered after long investigations led by Italy's domestic intelligence agency AISI, with support from the Chief of the Defense Staff. In London, Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab expressed 'solidarity' with Italy and condemned 'Russia's malign and destabilizing activity that is designed to undermine our NATO ally.' Embassy 'regret' The navy captain took pictures of secret documents on his computer screen and passed the files onto a pen drive which police confiscated, according to the AGI news agency. It also reported that Biot received 5,000 euros ($5,860) in cash from his Russian contact.Ī NATO official referred queries to Italian authorities, saying: 'We don't comment on intelligence issues.' That unit handled 'all confidential and classified documents,' including NATO dossiers, the Corriere della Sera newspaper said. The ANSA news agency, quoting investigative sources, named the navy officer as Walter Biot, and said he worked in the military policy unit within the office of the Chief of the Defense Staff. and really takes us back to the Cold War period,' she told AFP. The diplomat was notified of 'the immediate expulsion of the two Russian officials involved in this very serious affair,' Di Maio said.Įleonora Tafuro, a Russia expert at the ISPI think tank in Milan, said such incidents in Italy were rare. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio summoned Russian ambassador Sergey Razov on Wednesday morning to lodge a formal protest.

The Russian, an embassy official, avoided custody thanks to diplomatic immunity, police said. Special operations police stopped them both but arrested only the navy officer, accusing him of passing on 'confidential documents' in exchange for money. The two men met in a car park, according to media reports. The Italian frigate captain was arrested on spying charges after officers tailing him saw him late Tuesday in Rome in a 'clandestine meeting' with a Russian military officer, according to a police statement. Italy expelled two Russian officials on Wednesday after an Italian navy captain was caught red-handed by police selling secret documents to the Russians.

Dipset diplomatic immunity 2 rar