On the instructions of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Riccardo Guariglia, summoned the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Italy, Aleksej Paramonov, today to express the Italian Government’s strongest protest following the illegal activities carried out by two officials with diplomatic status at the Embassy of the Russian Federation, which were recently uncovered on Italian territory thanks to a tip-off from the AISI (Internal Intelligence and Security Agency).
During the meeting, the Secretary-General reiterated that such actions constitute a serious and unacceptable interference with national security and Italian institutions. It was also emphasised that Italy will continue to counter, with the utmost determination, any hostile activity directed against the country, in close coordination with its allies.
In this context, Ambassador Paramonov was notified of the decision to expel the diplomatic personnel of the Russian Federation – Ivan Petrovich Gorbachev and Mikhail Vasilyevich Astakhov – who were involved in activities found to be incompatible with the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
