Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said that the American actions were “ungrounded and have unseemly goals”, adding: “We do not understand the reasons why the US Department of Justice has made a public statement in the spirit of the Cold War.”
He said that similar incidents “have occurred in the past, when our relations were on the rise”, and linked the spy scandal to the Obama administration's policy of “resetting” relations with Moscow following the sharp deterioration in ties under former President George W. Bush.
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, also suggested that disclosure of the alleged spy ring had been timed to damage last week's summit between President Barack Obama and President Dmitri Medvedev. Mr Obama declared at the White House talks that the US and Russia had “succeeding in resetting our relationship” a year after he launched the initiative in Moscow to improve relations.
“They have not explained to us what the matter is about. I hope they will,” Mr Lavrov, told reporters during a visit to Israel. “The moment when this was done was chosen with particular elegance.”
The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said that it was investigating the allegations but a spokesman called information coming from the US “contradictory” and declined further comment. The scandal was leading news bulletins on Russia's main television channels with one report describing the FBI operation as “in the spirit of the Cold War”.
Later the ministry hardened its reaction calling the allegations “baseless and improper.” It said it was regrettable that the claims had come after the Obama adminsitration hailed a “reset” in ties between the countries.
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, also refused to comment, as did the spokesman for Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister and a former KGB agent. The KGB was divided into two parts after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with the SVR undertaking foreign espionage and the Federal Security Service (FSB) charged with domestic spying.
A senior member of Russia's parliament, the Duma, warned that Moscow may retaliate with its own arrests, effectively acknowledging that a spy ring may have been uncovered in the US. Vladimir Kolesnikov, deputy chairman of the Duma's security committee, said Russia would issue an “appropriate” response to the Americans.
“It is not a secret that their special services continue to work here,” Mr Kolesnikov said. “I think our reaction will involve the use of criminal component measures.”
