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La Repubblica newspaper stated that the Russian army is linked to the Russian embassy in Rome and that the Italian is an officer in the Italian navy.
They were detained at a time when an Italian had handed over “confidential documents” to a Russian in Rome on Tuesday night, police said. Still, only the Italian was arrested.
The Russian, who is an embassy official, has avoided arrest due to his diplomatic immunity, according to the report.
According to La Repubblica, the soldiers were detained after a lengthy investigation involving, among others, Italian intelligence and the Ministry of Defense.
Investigators believe that the Italian officer, the captain of the frigate, agreed to pass on the secret information because he needed a lot of money due to family problems.
The newspaper writes that these cases are rare in Italy.
“There have been no such incidents in recent Italian history,” the article read. He claims that the last time a similar case occurred in Italy was during the Soviet era, in 1989: at that time, Italian special services tried to arrest two KGB employees who were believed to have tried to obtain information on the arms companies Italian.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it had summoned a pro-Moscow Russian ambassador on suspicion of espionage following the arrest of the Italian navy captain.
Sergei Razov was summoned to a meeting with a senior ministry official on Wednesday morning, “instructed by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Two Russian officials are sent
Italy on Wednesday ordered the departure of two Russian officials accused of an espionage scandal following the arrest of an Italian naval captain.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said in a statement that Rome had made a formal protest to the Russian ambassador and had informed him of the “immediate expulsion of two Russian officials involved in this very serious matter.”
The Italian officer turned over “confidential documents” to a Russian officer late Tuesday in Rome, authorities said.
Increased tension
In the European Union and NATO, Italy is among the countries with the best relations with Russia. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian embassy in Rome confirmed that its military attaché had been detained by police on Tuesday, but said it was “inappropriate to comment in detail.”
“In any case, we hope that what happened does not affect the bilateral relations between Russia and Italy,” the embassy said, adding that Razov had gone to the Italian Foreign Ministry.
The incident came after growing tensions between Moscow and the West. It was also fueled by the imprisonment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navaln, which prompted EU sanctions against senior Russian officials.
Bulgaria, in addition to a member of the EU and NATO, expelled two Russian diplomats last week after arresting six people in Russia for alleged espionage, including several officials from the Defense Ministry.
Last week, the Kremlin also issued a statement in which Putin complained about the “unsatisfactory state of Russia-EU relations.” The Russian president blamed “the unconstructive, often confrontational policies of our partners.”
Earlier this month, relations between Moscow and Washington cooled further when US President Joe Biden equated the Russian president with an assassin. Putin replied: “Whoever says something else speaks for himself.”
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