The expected symmetrical response-an expulsion of Italian diplomats from Moscow-has yet to be announced.īiot is now sitting in a Roman jail and awaiting trial. Ambassador Razov, interviewed by the Italian public broadcaster, said Russia believes the episode will not negatively affect the “overall constructive” relations between the two countries ( RaiNews, April 2). The Russian embassy has refused to comment, while Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov noted he “hopes good relations with Rome would continue” anyway. Elisabetta Belloni, the secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, summoned Russian Ambassador Sergei Razov ( Askanews, March 31). Ostrukhov and his superior Alexei Nemudrov, the naval and aeronautical attaché at the Russian embassy in Rome, have both been expelled for what the Italian minister of foreign affairs labeled “an extremely severe act of hostility” ( Sole24Ore, March 31).
Upon arrest, Biot was found with a suitcase containing 5,000 euros ($5,980), while the SD card was in Ostrukhov’s possession ( Repubblica, April 13). Biot exfiltrated these materials from his office computer, photographing and storing them on an SD card provided to him by the Russians. They consist of 181 papers, of which 7 documents are “NATO Secret,” 57 are “NATO Confidential,” 9 are “ riservatissimo” (Italian equivalent of “confidential” in the United States), and 65 are unclassified. The documents, whose content has not been disclosed, are said to regard North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) telecommunications and logistics. On the night of March 30, an Italian frigate commander, Walter Biot, was caught red-handed selling documents to Dimitry Ostrukhov, an employee at the Russian embassy in Rome ( Repubblica, March 31).
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