Russia promises reciprocal response after Italy expels two diplomats

Moscow on Wednesday promised a reciprocal response after Italy said it had expelled two Russian officials over a suspected spying case, the Interfax news agency cited a Russian lawmaker as saying.

Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said he had protested firmly to the Russian ambassador in Rome and informed him of the "immediate expulsion of two Russian officials involved in this extremely serious matter".

Russia's foreign ministry said it regretted the expulsions, but that they did not correspond to the level of bilateral ties, news agencies reported.