DATE=11/30/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / U-S ESPIONAGE (L)
NUMBER=2-256664
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  Russia has accused a U-S diplomat of trying to 
steal military secrets, adding a further complication 
to the already troubled relationship between Moscow 
and Washington.  V-O-A's Peter Heinlein in Moscow 
reports the incident comes at a time of growing anti-
American sentiment in Russia.

TEXT:  Russia's Federal Security Service, known as the 
F-S-B, says a young U-S diplomat from the U-S embassy 
in Moscow was caught Monday trying to obtain "military 
and strategic information" from a Russian citizen.

The F-S-B, the main successor agency of the Soviet K-
G-B, did not release the diplomat's name.  But the 
semi-official Interfax news agency identified her as 
33-year old Cheri Leberknight, a junior officer in the 
U-S embassy's political-military section.  The state-
run television service showed her photograph.

In an interview broadcast on Russian television, F-S-B 
spokesman Alexander Zdanovich said the woman was 
briefly detained, then turned over to embassy 
officials.  But he said the F-S-B had confiscated 
equipment used in espionage.

            /// ZDANOVICH ACT ONE - IN RUSSIAN - FADE 
UNDER ///

He says, "We confiscated a detailed map of the meeting 
place, along with some special equipment for listening 
to conversations of people who might be following her, 
and some tablets for secret writing."

A U-S embassy spokesman would neither confirm nor deny 
the incident, and referred all questions to the State 
Department.

News reports immediately noted that the incident came 
the same day as the announcement in Washington that a 
U-S Navy petty officer had been charged with spying 
for Russia.  But F-S-B spokesman Zdanovich denied 
there was any connection.

            /// ZDANOVICH ACT TWO - IN RUSSIAN - FADE 
UNDER ///

He says, "These are the words reminiscent of the Cold 
War period, when the principle of `an eye for an eye' 
was in effect."  He says "We had  no  idea there would 
be any publication in the U-S media about someone 
supposedly working for the Russian side."

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov tried to 
play down the significance of the incident.

            /// IVANOV ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER 
///

He says, "We are hopeful this incident will  not  
affect the development of bilateral ties, although of 
course, such episodes do  not  promote the improvement 
in the climate of our relationship."

Observers in Moscow say this may be only the second 
incident of a U-S diplomat being charged with 
espionage since the end of the Cold War.  One Russian 
analyst linked the episode to the surge of anti-
American sentiment that has risen in the wake of 
events such as NATO's eastward expansion, the Kosovo 
crisis, and the fierce Western criticism of Russia's 
current military campaign in Chechnya. (Signed) 

NEB/PFH/JWH/JP




30-Nov-1999 11:00 AM EDT (30-Nov-1999 1600 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.