MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. The Italian side is well aware of the existence of the principle of reciprocity, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said, commenting on top Italian diplomat Antonio Tajani’s reaction to the expulsion of an Italian military attache and his assistant from Russia.

"We made a relevant statement, which was quite clear. There is a principle of reciprocity in diplomacy, in foreign politics. I don’t think that the Italian foreign minister is ignorant to this," Grushko said when asked by TASS to comment on Tajani’s remarks.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed to TASS earlier that in a tit-for-tat move Russia had expelled the Italian military attache and his aide, who have three days to leave Russia. On Monday, Italian Charge d’Affaires Giovanni Scopa was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry so that Moscow could notify him of the decision. Following this, Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani called Moscow’s actions an "act of revenge" for the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Rome, adding that Moscow had no grounds for such a step.