AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) – In a breach of protocol, Russia has publicized the name of a man it says is the CIA station chief in Moscow.
In comments to Russian media Friday, a spokesman for Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB (the successor to the KGB), confirmed that Russia had complained to the CIA station chief in Moscow about efforts to recruit Russian officers as spies as far back as 2011. The name of the supposed CIA agent appeared in a quote attributed to the FSB spokesman in a Russian language article by Russia’s Interfax news agency. The man’s identity was removed from the quote in an English language version.
The name could not be immediately confirmed. A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department said she had not seen the Russian reports.
The exposure comes on the heels of the latest spy scandal between the old Cold War rivals, and despite signs that the Kremlin was prepared to let that incident go.
Earlier in the week, Russia publicized the detention of an American diplomat they insist was really a spy attempting to recruit a Russian security officer as an informant. State-owned television quickly broadcast video of the man’s detention, as well as photos of his supposed spy kit. That kit included a pair of wigs, a map of Moscow, and a compass. It also included a letter instructing the potential spy how to communicate with his handlers.
The alleged spy, Ryan Fogle, is listed as a third secretary in the political section of the US Embassy in Moscow. According to Interfax, Fogle had been placed under surveillance when he arrived in Moscow two years ago, already suspected of being a spy. Interfax also reported that Fogle left the U.S. Embassy on Monday in the back seat of a car and wearing a wig. He changed wigs before going to meet his suspected contact, Interfax reported.
After Fogle’s arrest, Russian authorities revealed that another alleged American diplomat, identified by the Russians as Benjamin Dillon, was caught last December and expelled from the country in January.
Russian news reports have said that Fogle was attempting to recruit a source in the Russian security services with expertise in the North Caucasus, suggesting that he was attempting to gather information as part of the investigation in the Boston bombing suspects, who came from that restive region.
Fogle has been given until Monday to leave the country, according to RIA Novosti.
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Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- At their joint news conference Friday at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey addressed the reports of new Russian missile sales to Syria. Dempsey called it “ill-timed” and an "unfortunate decision." Hagel agreed with Dempsey with regards to missiles “and whatever else is involved with the Russians does not help. It makes it more dangerous.”
Hagel said Secretary of State John Kerry had traveled to Moscow a few weeks ago to work out issues with Russia regarding Syria, including arms sales. He said the U.S. is trying to "convince the powers that are involved in the region to be careful with escalation of military options and equipment.”
“What's happening there, everybody knows, is very, very dangerous. And what we don't want to see happen, the Russians don't want to see happen, is for Syria to erupt to the point where we may well find a regional war in the Middle East," Hagel said Friday.
“The escalation of weaponry in the Middle East is dangerous,” Hagel continued, “and we are working with our partners in that area as well as other countries to make sure that whatever influence we have, that that doesn't continue."
Dempsey was blunt in calling the new anti-ship missile reports “at the very least an unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering. So it's ill-timed and very unfortunate.”
Later during Friday's briefing, Dempsey was asked about the sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft missiles that Russia is planning to sell to Syria. He warned that their arrival might embolden Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into a miscalculation.
“The S-300, for example -- higher altitude, longer range, multiple tracking capability. It pushes the standoff distance a little more, increases risk but not impossible to overcome. What I really worry about is that Assad will decide that since he's got these systems, he's somehow safer and more prone to a miscalculation. So, you know, again, an unfortunate decision.”
Dempsey emphasized that Russia doesn’t have these weapons and that there are no military plans to prevent their delivery to Syria.
Hagel added there had still been no decision on whether to provide lethal aid to Syrian rebels.
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File photo. Stocktrek Images/Thinkstock(KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan) -- Nine people were killed more than 50 injured when twin vehicle bombs exploded in a housing complex of Kandahar City in Aghanistan. Children are reportedly among the dead and injured.
The complex, called Aino Mina, houses more than a half million people in the outskirts of Kandahar.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Kandahar media blames Taliban.
This is the latest in a series of blasts that have killed Afghan civilians. Earlier this month, at least 10 civilians were killed when a roadside bomb in Kandahar detonated, according to BBC News. Fifteen people, including two American soldiers, died Thursday after a suicide attack in the capital city of Kabul.
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ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images(CANNES, France) -- It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller: while a fancy jewelry company is hosting a ball at the Cannes Festival, thieves break into a company employees’ hotel room and steal $1 million worth of jewelry.
But this story is real. It happened in Cannes overnight.
A representative of Chopard, the Swiss-based watch and jewelry company, left the stash in the safe in his room at the Novotel Hotel in Cannes while he attended a late-night gala at a much fancier hotel across town. When he returned, thieves had ripped a safe from the wall of his room.
Police are still trying to determine exactly what was inside, but they say the contents were likely Chopard jewels to be loaned to A-list celebrities as they walked the festival’s red carpet surrounded by a phalanx of eager photographers. Actress Julianne Moore has already been seen on the Cannes red carpet sporting gems from Chopard.
French police say the Chopard gala ran until 5 a.m. They believe the burglary happened around 2.30 a.m. The time suggests the thieves -- they do not believe this was a solo job -- knew exactly what they were doing.
In another twist worthy of Hollywood, a film with a similar plot had just been screened at Cannes. Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring is about celebrity-obsessed teenagers in Los Angeles who follow movie stars online and break into their homes while they are at public events. The film is based on a real gang of teens who broke into the home of Paris Hilton and other stars.
Chopard doesn’t just make jewels. They also make the Oscar-like trophies for the Cannes film festival, the crystal and gold Palme d’Or.
Festival officials say the Palmes are safe.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
