DATE=12/1/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / U-S SPY
NUMBER=5-44878
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russia has ordered the expulsion of a U-S
diplomat accused of trying to steal military secrets.
V-O-A Correspondent Peter Heinlein in Moscow reports
the incident reflects an increasingly hostile climate
between the former Cold War adversaries.
TEXT: Russian news agencies say a U-S embassy
official was summoned to the foreign ministry
Wednesday and handed a terse protest note. According
to the reports, the note demanded the immediate
expulsion of a junior political officer who was
detained Monday on suspicion of spying.
News of the diplomat's detention has revived memories
of Cold War espionage scandals. A spokesman for the
Federal Security Service took the unusual step of not
only identifying the diplomat, but also holding up her
photograph for television cameras.
Russian officials also went out of their way to deny
speculation that the expulsion was related to the
arrest in Washington of a U-S Navy petty officer
charged with spying for Moscow.
Russian newspapers Wednesday said the incident points
out the recent sharp deterioration in relations
between Moscow and Washington.
The "Izvestia" daily, in a front-page commentary,
observes that Russia and the West are moving toward
confrontation at a breath-taking pace. The paper says
it will take only another step to bring the two sides
to the brink of another Cold War.
Victor Kremenyuk of Moscow's prestigious U-S-A /
Canada Institute downplays comparisons to the Cold-War
era. But he describes the steep and steady decline in
bilateral ties as sad and troubling.
/// KREMENYUK ACT ONE ////
We are far from confrontation, at least to the
type during the Cold War. Almost we don't have
ideological confrontation, don't have some
global challenges to each other like the
Communist movement. Simply, relations have
become dead, and it's especially noticeable
because ambitions were very high, expectations
were very high.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Kremenyuk says with parliamentary elections in
Russia just weeks away, America-bashing has become
fashionable.
/// KREMENYUK ACT TWO ///
Anti-western, anti-American campaign has become
part of the Russian political campaign, and in
conditions we are moving toward parliamentary
elections December 19th, everyone, including the
security services [and] mass media, will compete
in who will be the most anti-American. And in
these conditions there is no chance that if
something happens like, a spy is stopped,
everyone would be interested to give it as much
publicity as possible, to demonstrate how sharp
they are, how tough they are.
/// END ACT ///
Amid the uproar in the Russian media, the U-S embassy
has maintained a stony silence about the incident,
refusing comment on even the most obscure detail.
The State Department in Washington said only that "an
incident" had taken place involving one of its
employees. But when asked for guidance on
pronunciation of the diplomat's name, an embassy
spokesman in Moscow said, "I cannot even confirm that
such a person has ever worked here." (Signed)
NEB/PFH/JWH/WTW
01-Dec-1999 13:24 PM EDT (01-Dec-1999 1824 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
