LONDON: An American man was arrested in Russia over night and has been accused of being a covert operative for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Russian officials told Bikyanews.com that they will hold the man until they learn the full extent of his mission in the country. "We have arrested an American posing as a diplomat but really a CIA spy. This action is unacceptable for Russia and we will not allow the United States to do this on our soil," a statement sent to Bikyanews.com from the foreign ministry read. Ryan C. Fogle, the third secretary in the political section at the US Embassy in Moscow, was detained in the night hours stretching from Monday to Tuesday and subsequently released to US diplomats, Russia's Federal Security Service said in a statement. He has been accused of attempting to recruit Russian intelligence officers for the CIA. According to the statement, which accused Fogle of operating as an undercover CIA officer, the American diplomat was found with special technical equipment, a recruitment note written to a Russian citizen, a large sum of money and products designed to change a person's appearance. "The US intelligence community recently has made repeated attempts to recruit employees of Russia's law-enforcement bodies and special agencies, which have been recorded and monitored by [Russia's] counterespionage forces," the FSB said. Russia's Foreign Ministry said it summoned US Ambassador Michael McFaul for an urgent meeting to discuss Fogle's detention. McFaul declined to comment on the matter in a Twitter question-and-answer session Tuesday. The FSB announcement was released just as the previously scheduled session on US support for Russian civil society began. A spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Moscow also declined to comment on Fogle's detention as American mission's are only allowed to speak directly to family members when a citizen is arrested. BN
