Russia demands details on tunnel
Published:
23 March 2001 y., Friday
Incensed by a report that the U.S. government built a tunnel under the Soviet Embassy in Washington in the 1980s to eavesdrop, Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday demanded that the United States provide details.
The New York Times reported Sunday that the FBI and the National Security Agency constructed the secret tunnel in the 1980s but that Robert Philip Hanssen, an FBI agent arrested last month on charges of spying for Moscow, may have betrayed the operation.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement Monday suggesting that Moscow was officially unaware of the tunnel's existence. If the report is true, the statement said, "this will be a flagrant violation of the recognized norms of international law that throughout the world govern relations with foreign diplomatic missions."
The ministry said the charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow was called in Monday and given an official request for clarification.
The Soviet Embassy complex was built in the 1970s and 1980s but not fully occupied because of a dispute with the United States over claims that U.S. Embassy buildings in Moscow had been bugged. The complex was not fully occupied until after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Šaltinis:
usatoday.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Ministry of foreign affairs of Lithuania invites foreign citizens to take the quiz “Millennium of Lithuania. Culture and history”.
more »
President Adamkus underlines that today Lithuanian and Azerbaijani nations are linked by very special strategic ties that are strengthened even further by Azerbaijan‘s continuing efforts to develop relations with the European Union.
more »
Many experts believe that the offshore pipeline project poses a serious threat to the Baltic Sea environment because hazardous chemical weapons from World War II are still dumped at the bottom of the sea.
more »
President Valdas Adamkus extended, on behalf of himself and the people of Lithuania, congratulations to President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia on the occasion of Independence Day.
more »
President of the Republic of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus sent congratulations on behalf of himself and the people of Lithuania to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Horst Köhler, on his victory in the presidential election.
more »
President Valdas Adamkus congratulated President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina on the occasion of national holiday - Revolution Day - and extended best wishes for the well-being and prosperity of the Argentine people.
more »
On 22 May, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas met with the United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is paying an official visit.
more »
President Valdas Adamkus received letters of credence from the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi.
more »
On 18-19 May, Lithuania’s Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry took part in the meeting of European Union’s Ministers for Development Cooperation. The meeting was a on the agenda of the General Affairs and External Relations Council.
more »
On 15 May at Klaipėda University, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas opened an international conference “Baltic Marine Innovation Forum”, and welcomed the united forces of the Government, business and science representatives as well as diplomats, who care for the future of the Baltic Sea region.
more »