Putin slams US arrest of suspected spies
By DPA, IANSTuesday, June 29, 2010
MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Tuesday sharply criticised the arrest in the US and Cyprus of 11 suspected Russian spies.
The FBI had “let themselves go,” he said at a meeting with former US president Bill Clinton near Moscow. “They’re just putting people in prison.”
Luckily there were many people, such as Clinton, for whom Russian-US relations were worth a lot, Putin, a former president and KGB agent, said.
The Russian foreign ministry also confirmed for the first time that those arrested included Russian nationals.
“(But) they had taken no action which harmed the interests of the United States,” the ministry posted late Tuesday on its website.
Moscow says it assumes that those arrested will be given access to Russian consular services.
