Russia today claimed to have arrested a US diplomat in Moscow on suspicion of spying.
The FSB counter intelligence service claimed it caught Ryan Christopher Fogle red handed seeking to recruit a Russian intelligence officer. It said the envoy, a third secretary in the political section of the American embassy, was arrested overnight - it did not say which service the target was from or what stage the matter had reached.
Pictures released after the US diplomat's arrest show he was in possession of two wigs, three pairs of sunglasses, a microphone, knife and a substantial amount of money.
He was detained with 'special
technical devices, written instructions for the person he was recruiting, a lot
of cash, and things to help change one's appearance,' according to the
FSB.
'Recently, the US intelligence
service has made repeated attempts to recruit the staff of Russian law
enforcement agencies and special services, which were detected and carried out
under control of the Russian FSB counterintelligence service.'
After his arrest, he was taken to
the FSB headquarters at the Lubyanka, in Moscow, and later handed over to the
US embassy in keeping with diplomatic protocols.
Pictures were released of the US
diplomat undergoing questioning inside the offices of the FSB, formerly known
in Soviet times as the KGB.
It is unclear whether the US will
retaliate by expelling a Russian diplomat.
Ambassador Michael McFaul, who was
doing a question-and-answer session on Twitter when the detention was announced,
declined to comment. He is to be summoned to the Russian
foreign ministry tomorrow for an explanation of the diplomat's alleged
undercover activities.
The incident comes on the eve of
talks in Sweden between US secretary of state John Kerry and Russian foreign
minister Sergei Lavrov. The two countries are seeking to
improve relations but a spy scandal is likely to have the opposite impact.
Three years ago, Russian spy Anna
Chapman - a glamorous SVR foreign intelligence operative who had been married
to a British ex-public schoolboy - was arrested with nine others in the US. After confessing to working as
'illegal agents' - who did not have diplomatic cover - the group were deported
in a Cold War style spy swap.
The website of the American embassy
in Russia informs that its Political Section is engaged in 'bringing to the
attention of the Russian government the US position on the issues of foreign
policy and security'. The section's duty is also to
'inform Washington about the main provisions of the foreign and defence policy
of Russia' as well as Russian domestic political life.
'The US embassy is not giving any
comments on this matter,' a spokeswoman told Mail Online.
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