Italy, Romania expel 40 Russian diplomats

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.