国际英语新闻：U.S.-Russia spy case irritating but not devastating

MOSCOW, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The arrests of 10 alleged Russian spies in the U.S. this week may be an attempt to undermine trust between the two countries that glimmered during a recent meeting of their presidents.

But still, the arrests are unlikely to have any devastating effect on their warming bilateral relations, most experts agree.

ELEVEN SUSPECTS ARRESTED

This drawing shows five of the 10 arrested Russian spy suspects in a New York courtroom.  U.S. Justice Department announced Monday authorities have arrested 10 suspects on charges of spying for Russia.

The U.S. Justice Department announced Monday that 11 people had been charged as "unlawful agents of the Russian Federation within the United States." Ten suspected spies were arrested Sunday in the United States and an 11th was detained Tuesday in Cyprus before being released on bail.

The FBI said that the suspects had been spying for Russia for a decade or more, posing as civilians while trying to infiltrate U.S. policy-making circles and learn about U.S. weapons, diplomatic strategy and politics.

According to a CBC Radio broadcast from Toronto on Tuesday, four of the 11 spies carried forged Canadian passports. Three of the suspects, now in custody, were accused of posing as Canadians to cover their tracks while on assignment in the United States.

According to a complaint filed in federal court, some of the suspects had been under surveillance since January and their correspondence with Russia's intelligence service, the SRV, in Moscow had been intercepted and decoded.

The FBI said various espionage techniques were used by the suspects, varying from old-fashioned "drops" in parks to hi-tech electronic encoding.

FBI files submitted to the court said some of the suspects were in contact with Russian "state officials," including diplomats.

The Russian foreign ministers said later Tuesday that Russian citizens are among the suspects and they should have access to the lawyers.

RUSSIA AWAITS EXPLANATIONS

In response to the spy scandal, the Russian foreign ministry said Tuesday that the alleged reports of Russian spies in the United States were groundless.

"We believe such actions are ungrounded and have unseemly goals. We do not understand the reasons why the U.S. Department of Justice has made a public statement in the spirit of the Cold War," said ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko.

"In any case, it is regrettable that all these things are happening on the background of the 'reset' in Russian-U.S. relations announced by the U.S. administration," Nesterenko said.

Earlier Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Jerusalem that his country awaits explanations from the U.S. on the detention of the alleged spies. Lavrov said the time of the reports "was selected with a special grace."

An official from the ministry said on the same day that information concerning the spy scandal was contradictory.

"Messages are being studied, which are controversial and require further clarification," the official said.