Russia summons US ambassador over arrest of alleged ‘CIA spy’

The Russian foreign ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul on Wednesday to discuss the arrest and expulsion of a low-ranking embassy employee accused of being a CIA spy.

McFaul visited the ministry building for about half an hour, according to reports from Moscow. The usually outspoken ambassador left without making any comments and has also stayed silent on the embassy’s website and his Twitter account. 

Russia’s Federal Security Service — the successor to the Cold War-era KGB — arrested Ryan Fogle Monday night and accused him of trying to recruit Russian secret service experts on the Caucasus, where the Boston bombing suspects hail from.

{mosads}The security service shared video of Fogle’s arrest and questioning with Russian news agencies on Tuesday and has since released further video showing officials berating U.S. diplomats who came to pick him up on Tuesday.

“When our countries have achieved a new level of mutual relations, when our presidents are trying to improve the climate of understanding on the government level, this citizen on behalf of the U.S. government commits the most serious crime here in Moscow,” Russian officials can be heard saying, according to CBS News. “Do you have any questions, gentlemen?”

McFaul has jostled with the Kremlin in the past. The career diplomat and Obama’s former top Russia adviser has traveled across the country to meet with government officials as well as opposition groups, earning the wrath of President Vladimir Putin when McFaul met with protest leaders shortly after his arrival in the country last January.

“Just as President Obama did when he visited Moscow in July 2009,” McFaul wrote on his blog at the time, “all senior US officials visiting Russia make a point of meeting with both government officials and civil society leaders.”