American–Russian Relations Set Back by “Spies”

On June 28, the American Justice Department announced, after processing several years worth of secret investigation reports, that America has uncovered a Russian intelligence website and arrested 10 suspected spies, with one more on the run. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov expressed the next day that Russia is looking forward to an explanation from the U.S.

Method

The Long-Kept Secret

According to an American media report, the suspects resided all over the United States, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and the capital, Washington, D.C. They were Russian spies that had laid low and kept very secretive for a long time, and some had been living under American names as husband and wife, with their children left in the dark about the true identity of their parents.

American media also made public the details of the report. It says that these people had their own agenda, but a direct link to foreign nations is unclear. In comparison with traditional forms of communication used by spies, these people used wireless short-range communication on their laptops to transfer intelligence.

Mission

Accessing America’s Classified Information on Policy Making

According to American media reports, the FBI had been investigating the suspects for several years and discovered concrete evidence by intercepting communications between the suspects and their headquarters in Moscow. The intercepted information reveals that some of the defendants’ primary goal was to access the United States strategic policy archives, “to seek and unfold the content of American strategic policy making.” Some of the defendants had been requested to obtain intelligence on American nuclear weapons, American armaments and negotiations, the nuclear threat of Iran, rumors about the White House, replacement of leadership at various levels of the CIA, the 2008 American elections, Congress, the party currently in power and other related fields.

According to documents released by the courts in spring of 2009, Richard Mofei, who had been residing in New Jersey, had been called back to Moscow after information circulated that President Obama was preparing to visit Russia. He had been requested to figure out America’s standpoint on reducing offensive strategic weapons negotiations, on the nuclear threat of Iran and on the problems in Afghanistan. Moreover, he was to provide information regarding Obama’s reasons for visiting Russia and the respective American diplomatic policy.

Another section of information intercepted by the FBI shows that Mofei had direct contact multiple times with someone from New York inside banking circles, who has played an active role in politics as well. In response, and concerning foreign intelligence, Russia said that “this person is an extremely significant target” and had asked Mofei to slowly establish a relationship in order to obtain information on American diplomatic policy, the inside story of the White House and other related pieces of information. The CIA said that another defendant living in Massachusetts had contact with someone who worked in a government research organization and had asked him about America’s plans for developing nuclear weapons and earth-piercing missiles, as well as other sensitive questions.

The Secret War

Non-Aligned Marching

After this event took place, Lavrov said on June 29, “Nobody had told me anything about this,” and “The only thing that I am able to say is that the timing of this event was ingenious.” The rest of the world analyzed this by thinking that in July of last year, Obama visited Russia trying to reboot U.S.–Russian relations. After the United States and Russia were able to overcome Europe’s guided missile defense system, nuclear disarmament, the threat of Iran and other difficult matters in a step-by-step process, it became a pretext for Russian President Medvedev to visit America, bringing both sides to a higher level of cooperation in science, technology and trade. This sudden exposure of “spies” has caused America and Russia’s steps to be out of alignment.

Russian vice chairman of the safety department in Parliament, Nikolay Kolesnikov, says that “there are some people who are not willing to see two people working together to develop constructive relationships between two young presidents and U.S.–Russian relations warming up again.” The first vice chairman of the Russian Federation, Alexander Torshin, pointed out that Medvedev’s visit to the United States created a series of agreements and that “this is a much more important signal” that confirms U.S.–Russian intimate growing relation.

Editor’s note: Quotes in this article, correctly translated, could not be verified.