EWEN MACASKILL
barack obama
obama administration
us foreign policy
us congress
us politics
united states
us military
john kerry
syria
bashar al-assad
russia
vladimir putin
As the president prepares to meet the prime ministers of Britain and Turkey, what are his options on the Syrian civil war?
President Barack Obama will come under increasing pressure this week, from international allies as well as Congress, to intervene in the Syrian civil war as the death toll mounts and the crisis spills into neighbouring countries.Obama's toughest meeting will be on Thursday, with the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, raging over two bomb attacks in Turkey on Saturday that killed 46. Turkey, which has been assisting the Syrian rebels, blamed Syria. Erdogan will press a reluctant Obama to become involved. Before that, Obama sees British prime minister David Cameron at the White House on Monday, for an update on a renewed push for a diplomatic solution, an international conference that would bring together Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's government and the rebels.
On top of the White House meetings, Congressional hearings are scheduled this week on Syria, presenting an opportunity for some of the most vocal members to call for Obama to do something to resolve the conflict. All options for the Obama administration look grim.
International peace conference:
A joint US-Russia initiative, with the conference planned for June. On paper, it offers the best chance of resolving the issue, bringing Assad's government and the rebels together to see if they can reach agreement on ending violence and creating a new compromise government.However, while a diplomatic solution would be ideal for the Obama administration, few believe that there is a realistic chance of a deal. Much hinges on the Russia, Syria's consistently loyal ally. Cameron met the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Russia on Friday and Downing Street briefed reporters that Cameron would tell Obama that Putin was prepared to be flexible. Putin, though, has not shown much willingness this year to work with the US, Britain and other members of the United Nations security council on the Syrian crisis. Russia is also continuing to supply arms to Assad, claiming it is only honouring contracts.
Even if a conference is held, there would be difficult problems. What rebel groups would be invited? Would rebels agree to a compromise government that left Assad involved?
Friction is already evident. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, said on Thursday that there could be no compromise that leaves Assad in power. His Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, said that Assad's departure would not be a precondition of the conference.
Feelers to the Assad government:
Amid scepticism over whether a peace conference will work, the Obama administration's next best option is to see Assad, above, and his immediate circle forced to leave Syria, leaving the rump of his government in place. This rump would provide, from a US viewpoint, a group that it could work with, preferred to rebel groups that are strongly Islamist.Arab countries close to the US have maintained links with senior figures in the Assad government, encouraging them to stay in place. Assuming Assad was to leave, the rump government would still have to reach an accommodation with the rebels.
Arm the rebels:
Britain and France, as well as a vocal group of Republicans in the Senate, are pushing Obama to arm the rebels.Britain and France are pressing other European Union members to lift an arms embargo. They argue that while some of the rebels are Islamists, it is better to work with the rebels and try to help strenghten the moderate ones. The White House is reluctant to arm rebels, fearing it will be supplyng Islamist groups that are hostile to the US. The nightmare for the US – and Israel – would be the Islamists taking power, turning Syria into a platform for attacks on Israel with access to chemical weapons.
The White House has agreed to the supply of communications and other non-lethal equipment to the rebels but has so far resisted sending arms. If it does bow to pressure, it would send as few as possible.
No-fly zone:
Erdogan will press for US intervention, citing the human-rights abuses and massive death toll in Syria, as well as the alleged use of chemical weapons. He will also stress the risk of the violence spilling over into not only to Turkey but Jordan, Israel and Lebanon. To a large extent it already has, with Israel bombing Syrian targets, Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters engaged and Jordan struggling with the refugee crisis.Erdogan supports a no-fly zone because it would at least protect civilians in rebel-controlled areas from air attack. But it would consolidate the rebel hold on parts of the country, making eventual fragmentation more likely. No-fly zones could also see US planes come under attack from Syrian air defences. A no-fly zone was maintained over Iraq for years and was largely ineffective.
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EDITOR
kremlinology
spotlight
alexei beltyukov
dmitry medvedev
ilya ponomarev
skolkovo
vladislav surkov
The resignation of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov — the Kremlin’s “grey cardinal” — has prompted a raft of articles speculating as to the true cause for Surkov’s departure. This article suggests that his involvement in the corruption-plagued Skolkovo project, inaugurated by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, became Surkov’s pink slip . –Ed.
On 8 May, the Kremlin press service reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin has relieved Vladislav Surkov of the duties of Vice Premier – the head of the government’s staff. According to the official story, the resignation of the influential official took place “at his own wish.” Surkov wrote his request after a meeting on 7 May devoted to fulfilling Putin’s election initiatives, according to Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
On the previous day, the Vice Premier defended the cabinet of ministers after the President criticized them for not fulfilling his orders. In Surkov’s opinion, “from the perspective of formal discipline, and the timely submission of reports, the government has been working rather blamelessly.” Putin did not react to this comment; according to Peskov, it was after this meeting that the president decided to approve Surkov’s resignation request. The move was “related to the topic of top-priority tasks in realizing the President’s May decrees and election promises, and the functioning of the commissions at the White House that were involved in implementing these decrees,” the Press Secretary claimed to news outlets.
However, the reasons for the dismissal were not at all those indicated by Peskov, two sources in the government toldForbes. Even the date of the submission of the request cited by the President’s Press Secretary was refuted by Surkov himself: in a commentary given to Kommersant, Surkov stated that he submitted his request for resignation on 26 April, not after the meeting on 7 May.
The attack on Surkov began months before the 7 May meeting – a video tape was aired by almost all the government television channels, showing Surkov faltering several times, clearly nervous while reporting to Putin, who is looking at him sternly.
Starting in early February, investigative agencies and the Accounts Chamber began to consecutively file financial and criminal complaints about the activity at Skolkovo, the innovation city and main project of Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency. Surkov personally oversaw this project and remains on the Board of Trustees of the Skolkovo Fund.
“From the very beginning, this looked like a deliberate attack on Surkov and his boss Medvedev, behind which could be their opponents from the presidential administration – Sergei Ivanov [former rival of Medvedev in the battle for the status of “successor”—Forbes] and Vyacheslav Volodin [who replaced Surkov in the post of first deputy chief of the presidential administration— Forbes],” said a source in the government.
This story was followed by an information attack against Minister of Education Dmitry Livanov, who was considered to be a member of “Surkov’s team.” Deputies of the State Duma close to Volodin, among others, were behind this. Finally, on 18 April, the criminal case appeared against Alexei Beltyukov, Vice President of the Skolkovo Fund, for misappropriation of funds in relation to the payment for lectures by Ilya Ponomarev, the State Duma Deputy from Just Russia, and a leader of the street opposition.
This last episode was key in the story of Surkov’s resignation.
Another source within the President’s staff claims that in his testimonies to the Investigative Committee, Beltyukov indicated that Surkov had authorized the transfer of the money to Ponomarev.
Ponomarev says he does not know anything about this. Surkov does not have a direct relationship with the Fund, and the role of the Vice Premier of Skolkovo was not formalized in any way, Ponomarev told Forbes. According to Ponomarev, Surkov only fulfilled the role of overseer of the “innovation city” within the government. In the research work he performed for his honorarium from the Fund, Ponomarev expresses “particular gratitude” to Surkov. During an interrogation by the Investigative Committee on 7 May, Ponomarev was not asked a single question about Surkov by investigators.
An unexpected speech by Surkov played the role of catalyst in the conflict with the Kremlin. On 1 May, Surkov commented on the case against Belytukov in a talk at the London School of Economics. In response to the complaints by law-enforcement agencies, he advised the office of Alexander Bastrykin not to be hasty in their conclusions, especially regarding a project with such a sensitive reputation. “If some pig tarnishes your reputation, it doesn’t mean that all of your business should come to naught, right? You just have to kick the pig out and continue to work,” Surkov said.
The reaction wasn’t long in coming: on 7 May, an article came out in the newspaper Izvestia by Vladimir Markin, Press Secretary of the Investigative Committee, criticizing Surkov’s London performance. Surkov himself was described by Gen. Markin as a “handler for particularly effective managers” who prefers to “perform the aria of a Moscow guest” in the British capital “to a targeted audience.” Markin harshly called on Surkov not to politicize the anti-corruption investigation.
Surkov, for his part, limited his remarks to saying that he didn’t comment on “graphomania.” A highly-placed source in the government defended Surkov. He expressed puzzlement over the publication of the article. The source noted that Markin made it seem as if “someone is in the leadership of the very government against which he is protesting.” The anonymous source, a supporter of Surkov, summarized the article as follows: “It’s like a political denunciation.”
There really was a denunciation in some form, a government source told Forbes. According to the source, it was brought to the attention of Putin by the Kremlin administration and the power ministries that Surkov had authorized the financing of one of the leaders of the “Bolotnaya movement” and that this was the real reason for his dismissal, and Surkov’s speech hastened the matter. According to another source in the government, there were suspicions in the presidential administration that Surkov was protecting and financing other leaders of Bolotnaya – the Gudkovs. Peskov dismissed the claim that Surkov’s resignation was related to the Skolkovo story.
Ivanov, Volodin and the powerful ministers around Putin were the initiators of an attack not so much on Surkov as on Medvedev, says the source. In transferring to the government along with Medvedev (he became Vice Premier even before the start of Putin’s third term), Surkov “performed the role of a barrier who limited the influence of the presidential administration on the government,” said the source. “Putin deliberately surrounded himself with a weak composition of government in the staff sense, so that after the passing of unpopular reforms he could sacrifice the ministers. The departure of the Vice Premier and his entourage is symbolic; the resignation after the article from the Press Secretary of the Investigative Committee looks like a planned attack by the powerful ministers,” agrees Igor Bunin, Director of the Center for Political Technologies.
A source close to the premier says that it was hard to persuade Surkov to remain “if he wants to leave himself.” Natalya Timakova, Medvedev’s Press Secretary, told Forbes that Medvedev met with him several times before his resignation and was kept informed of his decision. She confirmed that the request was submitted back on 26 April.
Forbes was unable to obtain a comment from Volodin’s office. At Surkov’s office, Forbes was told that the ex-official is not yet answering questions from journalists.
On 8 May, the Kremlin press service reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin has relieved Vladislav Surkov of the duties of Vice Premier – the head of the government’s staff. According to the official story, the resignation of the influential official took place “at his own wish.” Surkov wrote his request after a meeting on 7 May devoted to fulfilling Putin’s election initiatives, according to Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
On the previous day, the Vice Premier defended the cabinet of ministers after the President criticized them for not fulfilling his orders. In Surkov’s opinion, “from the perspective of formal discipline, and the timely submission of reports, the government has been working rather blamelessly.” Putin did not react to this comment; according to Peskov, it was after this meeting that the president decided to approve Surkov’s resignation request. The move was “related to the topic of top-priority tasks in realizing the President’s May decrees and election promises, and the functioning of the commissions at the White House that were involved in implementing these decrees,” the Press Secretary claimed to news outlets.
However, the reasons for the dismissal were not at all those indicated by Peskov, two sources in the government toldForbes. Even the date of the submission of the request cited by the President’s Press Secretary was refuted by Surkov himself: in a commentary given to Kommersant, Surkov stated that he submitted his request for resignation on 26 April, not after the meeting on 7 May.
The attack on Surkov began months before the 7 May meeting – a video tape was aired by almost all the government television channels, showing Surkov faltering several times, clearly nervous while reporting to Putin, who is looking at him sternly.
Starting in early February, investigative agencies and the Accounts Chamber began to consecutively file financial and criminal complaints about the activity at Skolkovo, the innovation city and main project of Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency. Surkov personally oversaw this project and remains on the Board of Trustees of the Skolkovo Fund.
“From the very beginning, this looked like a deliberate attack on Surkov and his boss Medvedev, behind which could be their opponents from the presidential administration – Sergei Ivanov [former rival of Medvedev in the battle for the status of “successor”—Forbes] and Vyacheslav Volodin [who replaced Surkov in the post of first deputy chief of the presidential administration— Forbes],” said a source in the government.
This story was followed by an information attack against Minister of Education Dmitry Livanov, who was considered to be a member of “Surkov’s team.” Deputies of the State Duma close to Volodin, among others, were behind this. Finally, on 18 April, the criminal case appeared against Alexei Beltyukov, Vice President of the Skolkovo Fund, for misappropriation of funds in relation to the payment for lectures by Ilya Ponomarev, the State Duma Deputy from Just Russia, and a leader of the street opposition.
This last episode was key in the story of Surkov’s resignation.
Another source within the President’s staff claims that in his testimonies to the Investigative Committee, Beltyukov indicated that Surkov had authorized the transfer of the money to Ponomarev.
Ponomarev says he does not know anything about this. Surkov does not have a direct relationship with the Fund, and the role of the Vice Premier of Skolkovo was not formalized in any way, Ponomarev told Forbes. According to Ponomarev, Surkov only fulfilled the role of overseer of the “innovation city” within the government. In the research work he performed for his honorarium from the Fund, Ponomarev expresses “particular gratitude” to Surkov. During an interrogation by the Investigative Committee on 7 May, Ponomarev was not asked a single question about Surkov by investigators.
An unexpected speech by Surkov played the role of catalyst in the conflict with the Kremlin. On 1 May, Surkov commented on the case against Belytukov in a talk at the London School of Economics. In response to the complaints by law-enforcement agencies, he advised the office of Alexander Bastrykin not to be hasty in their conclusions, especially regarding a project with such a sensitive reputation. “If some pig tarnishes your reputation, it doesn’t mean that all of your business should come to naught, right? You just have to kick the pig out and continue to work,” Surkov said.
The reaction wasn’t long in coming: on 7 May, an article came out in the newspaper Izvestia by Vladimir Markin, Press Secretary of the Investigative Committee, criticizing Surkov’s London performance. Surkov himself was described by Gen. Markin as a “handler for particularly effective managers” who prefers to “perform the aria of a Moscow guest” in the British capital “to a targeted audience.” Markin harshly called on Surkov not to politicize the anti-corruption investigation.
Surkov, for his part, limited his remarks to saying that he didn’t comment on “graphomania.” A highly-placed source in the government defended Surkov. He expressed puzzlement over the publication of the article. The source noted that Markin made it seem as if “someone is in the leadership of the very government against which he is protesting.” The anonymous source, a supporter of Surkov, summarized the article as follows: “It’s like a political denunciation.”
There really was a denunciation in some form, a government source told Forbes. According to the source, it was brought to the attention of Putin by the Kremlin administration and the power ministries that Surkov had authorized the financing of one of the leaders of the “Bolotnaya movement” and that this was the real reason for his dismissal, and Surkov’s speech hastened the matter. According to another source in the government, there were suspicions in the presidential administration that Surkov was protecting and financing other leaders of Bolotnaya – the Gudkovs. Peskov dismissed the claim that Surkov’s resignation was related to the Skolkovo story.
Ivanov, Volodin and the powerful ministers around Putin were the initiators of an attack not so much on Surkov as on Medvedev, says the source. In transferring to the government along with Medvedev (he became Vice Premier even before the start of Putin’s third term), Surkov “performed the role of a barrier who limited the influence of the presidential administration on the government,” said the source. “Putin deliberately surrounded himself with a weak composition of government in the staff sense, so that after the passing of unpopular reforms he could sacrifice the ministers. The departure of the Vice Premier and his entourage is symbolic; the resignation after the article from the Press Secretary of the Investigative Committee looks like a planned attack by the powerful ministers,” agrees Igor Bunin, Director of the Center for Political Technologies.
A source close to the premier says that it was hard to persuade Surkov to remain “if he wants to leave himself.” Natalya Timakova, Medvedev’s Press Secretary, told Forbes that Medvedev met with him several times before his resignation and was kept informed of his decision. She confirmed that the request was submitted back on 26 April.
Forbes was unable to obtain a comment from Volodin’s office. At Surkov’s office, Forbes was told that the ex-official is not yet answering questions from journalists.
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The Institute of Modern Russia continues the series of publications by prominent scholar Alexander Yanov on the history of Russian nationalism. In this article, the author recounts the 19th century clash between “state patriotism” and “Slavophilism.”
По плану Путина, те, кто владеет русским языком и чьи прямые предки жили в СССР, смогут получать гражданство РФ по упрощенной схеме. То есть речь идет не только о «всеми любимых братьях-славянах», но и о «всеми нелюбимых гастарбайтерах».
On Sunday, Russian investigators revealed that a 23-year old man (subsequently identified by activists as Vladislav Tornovoi) was tortured to death, in what the authorities believe to have been an anti-gay attack. Tornovoi was brutally beaten and raped during the Victory Day celebrations on May 9th, and two men have been detained in connection with the incident.
The attack has prompted a flurry of questions in the international and domestic media about the connection between this act of violence and institutionally-sanctioned and popular homophobia, which human rights campaigners have long complained is on the rise in the Russian Federation. Russia’s LGBT community has reported regular instances of both casual and more aggressive instances of homophobia, including verbal and physical attack by both private citizens and policemen.
In an interview with The Moscow Times, gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev suggested that investigators made the unconventional admission of the homophobic motivations for the crime in order to downplay the importance of his death:
Vladimir Putin also recently stated that countries which allow gay marriage may be banned from adopting Russian children. These developments are part of an escalating trend which seeks to harness the country’s socially conservative mores (and bigotry) as a means of sustaining Putin’s political stability. As Voice of America reported:
The attack has prompted a flurry of questions in the international and domestic media about the connection between this act of violence and institutionally-sanctioned and popular homophobia, which human rights campaigners have long complained is on the rise in the Russian Federation. Russia’s LGBT community has reported regular instances of both casual and more aggressive instances of homophobia, including verbal and physical attack by both private citizens and policemen.
In an interview with The Moscow Times, gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev suggested that investigators made the unconventional admission of the homophobic motivations for the crime in order to downplay the importance of his death:
“‘By noting that the victim was gay, investigators wanted to portray him as someone abnormal and therefore expendable,” he said by phone.Homophobia is increasingly being legally legitimized in Russia. Later this month, Russia’s State Duma is expected topass a piece of legislation banning “homosexual propaganda.” As with many of the laws introduced since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency last year, the oblique and vague wording of this piece of legislation is thought to have been specifically designed to leave open the possibility to harass and shut down outlets for self-expression by gay individuals, ranging from the publication of books and magazines addressing homosexual themes or discrimination, to shutting down gay clubs and LGBT protests.
“‘… Political figures have provoked anti-gay sentiment by portraying the gay community as a bunch of freaks,’ Alexeyev said. ‘They are accomplices in the killing.’”
Vladimir Putin also recently stated that countries which allow gay marriage may be banned from adopting Russian children. These developments are part of an escalating trend which seeks to harness the country’s socially conservative mores (and bigotry) as a means of sustaining Putin’s political stability. As Voice of America reported:
“Putin’s conservatism is backed by a nationwide Levada poll conducted in February. Two-thirds of respondents backed laws banning ‘gay propaganda.’ And large majorities said that gay propaganda could mean banning books, films, protests and parades.”Sadly, as homosexuals make strides towards securing equal rights elsewhere in the world, we are likely to continue to see the opposite trend in Russia as long as the current political status quo remains in place.
 Telegraph.co.uk |
Cameron Says US, UK, Russia Share Same Aim on Syria (1)
Businessweek Both leaders also welcomed what Cameron called “common ground” with Russia on ways to forge “a stable, inclusive and peaceful Syria, free from the scourge of extremism.” Syria was among the agenda items in talks at the White House that also included ... Russia shift on Syria sees Cameron urge new Western approachTelegraph.co.uk US, UK argue common ground with Russia on SyriaPolitico Cameron to tell Obama that Russia supports end to Syria violenceThe Times (subscription) all 365 news articles » |
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 Channel News Asia |
US, Britain say common ground with Russia on Syria
Channel News Asia Cameron, fresh from a trip to Russia, one of Assad's few remaining backers, said he believed Washington, London and Moscow had found "common ground" on the crisis, which has left tens of thousands dead. Obama agreed, saying Russia had an "interest ... Russia shift on Syria sees Cameron urge new Western approachTelegraph.co.uk Cameron Says US, UK, Russia Share Same Aim on Syria (1)Businessweek US, UK argue common ground with Russia on SyriaPolitico RIA Novosti -The Times (subscription) -Voice of Russia - UK Edition all 431 news articles » |
The Georgian Dream coalition has chosen as its candidate for the October presidential election Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Giorgi Margvelashvili. Meanwhile, incumbent President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement plans to select its presidential candidate by means of U.S.-style primaries by the end of this month.
Telegraph.co.uk |
US, Britain press Russia on Syria action - Ninemsn
Ninemsn 8:59pm May 14, 2013. President Barack Obama has warned old suspicions between Russia and the West could hamper new "common ground" on ending the crisis in Syria, even as he and his British counterpart upped pressure on Damascus ally Moscow. US, UK pressure Russia over SyriaThe Australian Syria opposition to consult allies over US-Russia initiativeAl-Arabiya Russia shift on Syria sees Cameron urge new Western approachTelegraph.co.uk Press TV-Politico (blog)-Gant Daily all 275 news articles » |
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned after a meeting with Israel's prime minister in Sochi against any move that would "aggravate" the situation in Syria.
EDITORIAL DESK
news highlights
Russian law enforcement officials have confirmed that a man was tortured and murdered in the southern city of Volgograd, apparently because he was gay.
 New York Daily News |
Russia's security services detain US diplomat, claim he is a spy
New York Daily News Russia's security services say they have caught a U.S. diplomat who they claim is a CIA agent in a red-handed attempt to recruit a Russian agent. Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, was carrying special technical equipment, ... |
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Russia to Expel US Diplomat
Wall Street Journal Ryan C. Fogle, the third secretary in the political section at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, was detained in the night hours stretching from Monday to Tuesday and subsequently released to U.S. diplomats, Russia's Federal Security Service—the FSB—said ... |
US diplomat ordered to leave Russia after being accused of trying to recruit ...
Washington Post The Russian Foreign Ministry posted a statement on its Web site saying it had declared Ryan C. Fogle, who is listed as the third secretary in the political section at the U.S. Embassy, persona non grata. Fogle must leave the country quickly, the ... |
Ryan Fogle Detained By Russia, Accused Of Spying For CIA
Huffington Post In this handout photo provided by the FSB, acronym for Russian Federal Security Service, a man claimed by FSB to be Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, is detained in Moscow, early Tuesday, May 14, 2013. Russia's security ... |
A man said to be a CIA agent has been briefly detained in Moscow after trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer, according to the country’s security services.A blond wig, a bundle of cash and a printed A4 letter offering one million dollars for cooperation. It sounds more like Austin Powers than the modern day CIA, but these are the accoutrements allegedly found on the person of US diplomat Ryan Christopher Fogle when he was caught red-handed trying to recruit a Russian counterintelligence officer to spy for America. Voice of America |
Russia Detains US Diplomat Accused of Spying - VOA
Voice of America In a statement Tuesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said that at a time when the Russian and U.S. presidents have declared a readiness to expand bilateral cooperation, "such provocative actions in the spirit of the Cold War by no means promote the ... |
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Russia claims it detained CIA agent
Financial Times A US embassy diplomat was detained overnight by Russian security police in Moscow after he allegedly tried to recruit a Russian intelligence official to spy for Washington. Ryan Fogle, apparently the third political secretary of the US embassy in ... |
The news of an alleged CIA officer detained in Moscow in a blonde wig, with a "spy kit" of disguises, maps and bundles of euros, is reminiscent of the heights of the Cold War.
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Russia’s security services say they have caught a U.S. diplomat who they claim is a CIA agent in a red-handed attempt to recruit a Russian agent.
Russia's FSB Releases Alleged Letter on US Spying
ABC News Russia's Federal Security Service has released a photograph of a letter that allegedly contains instructions on spying for the United States. The FSB said the letter was found on a U.S. diplomat, who they claim is a CIA agent caught trying to recruit a ... |
Terrorism always complicates diplomatic relations.
Since the Boston Marathon bombing, the suspected handiwork of two brothers of Chechen background, Russian and American security officials have focused on a blame game.
Since the Boston Marathon bombing, the suspected handiwork of two brothers of Chechen background, Russian and American security officials have focused on a blame game.
Probe into oil benchmarks comes in the wake of Libor manipulation scandal. BP, Statoil, Shell and Platts are among the companies being investigated
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DAISY SINDELAR
russia
Russia’s announcement that it had caught an alleged American spy came as the U.S. ambassador, Michael McFaul, was launching a Twitter Q&A session open to the Russian public. McFaul continued the event, but any hopes of engaging on a wide variety of topics were quickly derailed by a wave of questions about the spy case.
 ABC News |
Russia Detains American Ryan Fogle for 'Spying'
ABC News Previous · Next. CIA Agent Ryan Fogle caught in Russia trying to recruit. Russia's security services say they have caught a U.S. diplomat who they claim is a CIA agent in a red-handed attempt to recruit a Russian agent. (FSB Public Relations Center/AP ... |
An American diplomat was briefly detained by the Russian State Security Service and then ordered to leave the country after being accused of trying to recruit a Russian officer to work as a U.S. agent, Russian officials said.
Russia's Federal Security Service has released a photograph of a letter that it claims contains instructions on spying for the United States.
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BY ROBERT MACKEY
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michael a
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Russia’s Federal Security Service, the successor to the Soviet-era K.G.B., released photographs and video of Tuesday’s arrest of an American accused of being a Central Intelligence Agency officer. 
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MIRIAM ELDER
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Ryan Fogle, accused of trying to recruit Russian agent for the CIA, had 'spy arsenal' of wigs and glasses, say officials
Russia has said it will expel a US diplomat accused of working as a spy after he was arrested while trying to recruit a Russian agent for the CIA, in an elaborate raid that revealed the American was carrying a bizarre arsenal of suspected
spying equipment.Ryan
Fogle, the third secretary at the US embassy in Moscow, was paraded in footage aired on state-run television after being detained late on Monday night by officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB), a successor to the Soviet-era KGB.He stands accused of being a CIA spy and was declared persona non grata by the foreign ministry on Tuesday .
"A classic spy arsenal was discovered, as well as a large sum of money that doesn't just expose a foreign agent caught red-handed, but also raises serious questions for the American side," the ministry said . "Such provocative actions in the spirit of the cold war in no way help to strengthen mutual trust."
Fogle was said to be carrying two wigs, three pairs of glasses, a compass and map of Moscow, as well as a knife, lighter, stacks of €500 notes and his US embassy ID.
Russia Today, an English-language TV channel run by the Kremlin, also revealed the contents of an alleged letteraddressed to the Russian recruit.
It begins: "Dear friend, This is a down-payment from someone who is very impressed with your professionalism and who would greatly appreciate your co-operation in the future." It goes on to offer $100,000 "to discuss your experience, expertise and co-operation" as well as $1m "for long-term co-operation".
It then instructs the recruit on how to open a Gmail account, before signing off with "your friends". The letter, wigs, andimmediate release of footage of the raid to state-run television like Russia Today elicited widespread confusion.
The scandal comes at an awkward time in US-Russia relations. On one hand, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin,has repeatedly blamed the US for fomenting discontent with his government, with officials going so far as to accuse the state department of funding opposition protesters. On the other, Moscow and Washington have been seeking to strengthen co-operation after the attack on the Boston marathon, suspected to have been carried out by two men with roots in Russia's troubled North Caucasus region.
It also comes less than a week after John Kerry, the US secretary of state, visited Moscow to help end the war in Syria. He was accompanied by Robert Mueller, the FBI director, who held a rare meeting with his Russian counterpart. In Washington, a state department spokesman said: "We can confirm that an officer at our US embassy in Moscow was briefly detained and was released." They
declined to comment further. The foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador, Michael McFaul, for a meeting on Wednesday.
In the video released by the FSB, a plain-clothed officer, his face distorted for the camera, is shown peeling a grey cap and blond wig off Fogle's head, before marching him to a car. Fogle is then shown seated, stone-faced, inside an FSB questioning site with three unidentified Americans, as a Russian official accuses him of trying to recruit a Russianintelligence officer involved in anti-terrorism efforts in the North Caucasus.
"At first, we didn't believe this could happen, because you very well know that lately the FSB has been actively helping the investigation of the Boston bombs," the official says. He goes on to lecture the group about US-Russia relations, and aims to increase co-operation following telephone talks between Putin and US President Barack Obama.
"Understandings were reached about co-operation," the Russian says. "And on this background, when relations are being strengthened between the countries, an American diplomat commits a government crime against the Russian Federation."
In a rare statement, the FSB said Fogle's alleged attempt to recruit a Russian agent was not unique. "Lately, American intelligence has made multiple attempts to recruit employees of Russian law enforcement organs and special agencies, which have been detected and monitored by FSB counter-intelligence," it said.
- The US has been at pains to reconstruct the six months that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, accused of carrying out the Boston bombing and subsequently killed in a shootout with police, spent in Dagestan, a volatile republic in Russia's south in 2012.
- Russia
- CIA
- United States
- US foreign policy
- Europe
- FBI
- Boston Marathon bombing
- Syria
In 2011, Russia had warned the FBI about Tsarnaev but, according to US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal, refused to respond to requests for information.
The bizarre details of the raid to capture Fogle recalled the "spy rock" scandal of 2006, when Russia said it had caught British spies "red-handed" using a fake rock fitted able to transmit classified data. Britain initially laughed off the scandal as absurd, but early last year, Jonathan Powell, former chief of staff to then prime minister Tony Blair, admitted it was true. He called the spy rock "embarassing". "They had us bang to rights."
The Fogle scandal comes three years after the US broke up a sleeper cell of 10 Russian spies and expelled them via a dramatic swap at Vienna airport. The ring's most famous spy, Anna Chapman, has gone on to have a successful career as a TV host and Kremlin cheerleader at home.
It was unclear whether the US would respond with a tit-for-tat expulsion, coming as the scandal does amid concerted US, UK and Israeli efforts to convince Russia to drop support for Bashar al-Assad. Last week, Kerry and Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, agreed to call a conference aimed at helping end the war.
Putin was meeting Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, in the southern city of Sochi when news of the spy scandal broke.
Russian officials tried to downplay the scandal, including Alexey Pushkov, head of the Duma's international affairs committee and one of government's loudest US critics. "The spy scandal around the American diplomat will be, I think, fleeting," Pushkov tweeted. "And it won't bother the Lavrov-Kerry negotiations. But it won't help the atmosphere."
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EDITOR
"foreign agents"
spotlight
translations
Yet another spy scandal is flaring up between the U.S.A. and Russia. On the night of May 14, counter-intelligence officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service detained a C.I.A. agent named Ryan Christopher Fogle, who had allegedly attempted to recruit a Russian security service officer. According to the Russian counter-intelligence agency, the U.S. spy had been working under cover, his official job being the third secretary of the political section of the US Embassy to Moscow.
“He had, on his person, special equipment, written instructions for the Russian citizen he was in the middle of recruiting, a large amount of cash and a disguise kit,” Izvestia was told by the Press Center of the Federal Security Service.
The detainee was transported to the holding room at Russia’s Federal Security Service and, following the necessary procedures, turned over to official representatives of the U.S. Embassy.
According to Federal Security Service, the U.S. intelligence service has repeatedly attempted to recruit officers of Russian law-enforcement and specialized agencies; those attempts were being monitored and controlled by the counter-intelligence division with Russia’s Federal Security Service.
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Russia ordered the expulsion of an alleged CIA spy following a high-profile sting operation in which an American diplomat was apparently caught red-handed trying to recruit a Russian source with a million-dollar-a-year reward.
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Footage from Russia's Federal Security Bureau (FSB) shows a man in a blonde wig accused of being a CIA agent, and 'spying equipment' in his possession when he was arrested in Moscow.
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MOSCOW — Two members of a militant nationalist group that has been implicated in a number of high-profile killings, including those of a prominent judge and an opposition journalist, have been detained in Serbia and Ukraine, the Investigative Committee said Monday.
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MOSCOW — The brutal killing of a gay man in the southern city of Volgograd has sparked outrage among Russia’s LGBT community, with activists calling authorities “accomplices” in the killing for stigmatizing sexual minorities.
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A young US diplomat at the embassy in Moscow was arrested by Russian authorities on allegations he was spying and seeking to induce a senior Russian official into betraying his country for cash.
Russian officials summoned the American ambassador to respond to allegations that an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency had been caught trying to recruit a Russian agent, saying the American had brought a large sum of cash, technical devices and “appearance disguising means.”
Russia Detains American, Saying He Is C.I.A. Agent
www.nytimes.com
Russia’s Federal Security Service announced Tuesday that it had detained an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency during an attempt to recruit a Russian agent.
Russia Detains American, Saying He Is C.I.A. Agent
www.nytimes.com
Russia’s Federal Security Service announced Tuesday that it had detained an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency during an attempt to recruit a Russian agent.
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