Italy's foreign ministry has announced the expulsion of 30 Russian diplomats for what it called "reasons related to national security".
"This measure, taken in agreement with other European and Atlantic partners, was necessary for reasons related to national security," the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Also on Tuesday, Romania decided to expel ten Russian diplomats.
"The Romanian authorities have decided to declare as personae non grata on the territory of Romania ten people working in the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bucharest, given that their activities and actions are contrary to the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961," the country's foreign ministry said in a press release.
Spain to expel 27 Russian diplomats
Spain will expel 27 Russian diplomats and embassy staff in the next few days, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has said.
Albares told journalists on Tuesday that Yuri Korchagin, the Russian Federation's ambassador in Madrid, was not included in the list of those being expelled as Spain aims to keep the channels of negotiation open with Russia, Xinhua news agency reported.
Spain is thus following in the footsteps of a number of European countries that have announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats.
