The Ministry of Defense (MoD) recently ordered the Russian attache to leave the country in retaliation for a similar move by Moscow in May, 2011 against the former Israeli military attache, government sources told Xinhua on Monday.

Russian officials ruled Col. Vadim Leiderman, as "persona non grata" over allegations of industrial espionage. The MoD, however, dismissed Moscow's claims that the Israeli envoy had received three warnings of inappropriate behavior prior to his dismissal, saying the messages weren't clear and that the expulsion was an exaggerated gesture.

Israeli officials kept the reciprocal step under wraps until today, in order not to imperil already shaky bilateral relations. Diplomatic tensions worsened last year over Russia's decision to sell arms to Syria.

The MoD and Foreign Ministry had debated the move before agreeing to the decision, according to local Haaretz daily, with several senior Foreign Ministry officials opposing the step.

While the Foreign Ministry denied the spying accusations, they hinted that the Israeli attache should have understood hints by the authorities.