Curzio Pacifici, who is the commander of a vessel expelled from Russia

The Russian Foreign Ministry ordered the expulsion of an Italian diplomat in response to Italy's previous expulsion of two Russian diplomats for the Biot case : this measure was taken following the arrest of the Italian Navy officer Walter Biot, accused of passing confidential information to Russia.

THE EXPULSION OF CURZIO PACIFICI AND THE BIOT CASE

On March 30, Walter Biot was caught red-handed delivering confidential documents to a Russian officer. He had been arrested on charges of espionage and disclosure of secrecy, while two Russian officials had been deported: among them was almost certainly also the officer involved in the exchange of documents.

WHAT CURZIO PACIFICI WAS DOING IN THE ITALIAN EMBASSY IN MOSCOW

The expelled Italian diplomat is ship captain Curzio Pacifici, an official of the Italian embassy in Moscow, where he works as a defense assistant and naval attaché.

THE COMMENT OF THE FARNESINA ON THE EXPULSION OF CURZIO PACIFICI

The Farnesina expressed "deep regret" for the decision taken by the Kremlin, considering it "unfounded and unjust" because "in retaliation for a legitimate measure taken by the Italian authorities to defend their own security".

WHAT THE CORRIERE DELLA SERA HAS WRITTEN

"Officer Curzio Pacifici, who is not accused of espionage or anything else, must leave the Russian capital by today only because the Kremlin thought it could not make an exception for Italy, even if it considers ours one of the most neighbors in the western field. Precisely because of these particular relationships, even if we have always aligned ourselves with the decisions of the EU and NATO, it was negatively surprised that agents of the Russian services were so active and had recruited one of our soldiers (Walter Biot) to obtain national secrets and of the Alliance ”, commented Corriere della Sera .

HERE IS THE CURRICULUM OF CURZIO PACIFICI:

Born in 1964, married.

Captain Curzio Pacifici was born on November 19, 1964 in Livorno. After completing the Accade mia Navale in 1987, he attended the US Navy's School of Flight in Pensacola (Florida). After having obtained the Fixed Wing and Rotating Wing Pilot patents, he made the transition to the machine on the AB212 ASW Helicopter at the Helicopter Station of Catania. In 1990 he was embarked on Units of the Naval Squad, Frigates and Fighters, in the Naval Base of Spezia. During this period, Commander Pacifici participated in several Operations in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Persian Gulf, both under the NATO and EU flags.

In 1995 he took over the command of the TERMOLI minesweeper. In 1996 he was embarked on the destroyer MIMBELLI, where he held the position of Head of Operations and Commander in II ^. In 1998, among the important positions on the ground, he was assigned to the Operational Command of the Joint Forces (COI), as a Staff Officer of the Chief of Staff. Promoted to Frigate Captain on January 1, 2001, he assumed command of the Bersagliere Frigate on October 17, 2003. In 2004 he was assigned to the Navy Staff, with the position of Head of Flight Support Office of the 6th Aircraft Department. In 2006 the Commander PACIFICI was assigned to the NATO Headquarters, as responsible for training and education

of the Allied Forces. From 2009 to 2012 he was Deputy Chief of the 6th Aircraft Department of the Navy General Staff.

The Commander PACIFICI has a degree in Maritime and Naval Sciences and in Political Sciences. In the 2002-2003 academic year, he attended the Senior Staff Course at the Joint Service Command and Staff College in the United Kingdom, and a Masters in Defense Studies at King's College London.

Since 29 October 2012 he has been in command of the Amerigo VESPUCCI training ship of the Italian Navy.