Clumsy British spies are better than crafty ones, says Putin

[Daanyeer]

This REMIND me "iska soo daay ILMO lee waaye"


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Source: The Guardian
January 26, 2006 Author: Nick Paton Walsh



The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, yesterday said that four British diplomats accused of espionage in Moscow should not be expelled, as their replacements might be cleverer than they were and harder to catch. The former KGB agent, who served in east Germany, said he wanted the Russian security services and the foreign ministry to suggest a line of approach to the Kremlin, but questioned the wisdom of expelling the four men.
The diplomats were shown on Russian state television on Sunday allegedly retrieving data from a Russian agent, by palmtop computer, via a transmitter hidden in a fake rock. The programme claimed that the British were using spies to fund and communicate with Russian non-governmental organisations.
Mr Putin said: "My opinion is that if these intelligence agents are expelled, they [the UK] will send new ones. These new people may prove to be smart. In this case, we will have to go to much trouble spotting them. Think about it," he said, according to Interfax."

The comments suggest the Kremlin is trying to push Britain into voluntarily withdrawing the four men, in order to avoid possible tit-for-tat expulsions of Russian diplomats in London. The British embassy in Moscow yesterday declined to comment on the whereabouts of the four - Paul Crompton, Marc Doe, Andrew Fleming and Christopher Pirt.

Mr Putin added that he did not want "to spoil relations with our partners", and said the MI6 agents' "involvement in funding NGOs" hopefully helped "many understand why Russia has adopted a bill controlling" such groups.

The president, relishing the boost given to his controversial NGO bill by the spying allegations, also put forward Russia's proposed solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis and the broader problem of nuclear proliferation. Iran reacted positively yesterday to Moscow's offer to enrich uranium for it and enable it to run a peaceful nuclear energy programme without generating its own fuel cycle. Mr Putin said he would take the idea to the G8 group of industrialised states.