China News Service, March 31. According to a report from the Russian Satellite Network on the 31st, the Italian Gendarmerie Special Operations Team (ROS) issued a statement stating that the Italian Gendarmerie had detained a Russian military officer working at the Embassy in Rome on charges of “espionage”. And an Italian navy captain.
Subsequently, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador to Rome.
According to sources, the arrest took place on the 30th, when the two met in secret, and the Italian military officers handed over classified documents in exchange for a sum of money.
ROS sources pointed out that Italian citizens have been arrested, and "Russian citizens are verifying their diplomatic identity."
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs later stated that the Secretary-General of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Elizabeth Belloni had followed the instructions of the Italian Foreign Minister Di Maio to summon the Russian Ambassador Sergei Razov.
According to reports, the Russian Embassy in Rome confirmed that the officer was arrested.
The Russian Embassy stated: “We confirmed that a military attaché was detained in Rome on March 30. The incident is under investigation. We believe that it is inappropriate to comment on the actual situation of the incident. In any case, we hope that the incident will not affect Russia. Bilateral relations with Italy."