WASHINGTON — In a rapidly arranged spy swap reminiscent of Cold War intrigues, the U.S. government agreed Thursday to send 10 agents to Russia who had burrowed into American society, and in return won the release of four jailed Russians accused of passing information to the West.
The Russian spies, who pleaded guilty Thursday to acting as unregistered foreign agents and were ordered deported, had endured only a few days of jail time since their arrests in the U.S. last month. In prior cases, spies spent years behind bars before being exchanged.
U.S. officials said there was no point in holding on to the Russian agents because authorities had monitored their activities for years and had unraveled their network. Obama administration officials said they had been eager to win the release of the four Russians, some of whom had spent long stretches in prison and were in poor health.
The deal was expected to remove an irritant from the U.S.-Russia relationship, which has improved markedly under the Obama administration. But one senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that “vestiges of an old Russia” were evident in the spying case.
“Frankly, that’s why we were as aggressive in rolling up this operation as we were,” the official said.
Obama authorized swap
President Barack Obama has not spoken to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about the spy swap but has been “fully briefed and engaged in the matter,” said the administration official. “It did come to the (U.S.) president for his authorization,” the official said. “And he gave it.”
Another senior U.S. official said the timing of the spies’ arrests, just days after the two presidents munched cheeseburgers during a visit to Washington by Medvedev, was coincidental.
It was driven “by our knowledge that one individual intended to depart the United States” imminently, the official said.
The U.S. government declined to identify the four Russians being sent to the United States. But a Kremlin statement identified them as Alexander Zaporozhsky, Sergei Skripal and Gennady Vasilenko, all former intelligence officers; and Igor Sutyagin, a nuclear expert at a think tank.
The 10 U.S.-based spies were expelled from the country after appearing in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon. The agents walked into Courtroom 26a in groups of five, some wearing beige and blue prison jumpsuits and others in T-shirts and jeans. One by one, they entered their pleas.
The hearing brought an abrupt conclusion to one of the more unusual spy cases in U.S. history. The 11 agents — one is still at large after disappearing in Cyprus — were sleepers whose job was to blend in at high-powered institutions such as the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard or in Manhattan financial circles, officials said.
Their mission was to gather information and identify potential future government employees who could be helpful, officials said.
Asked about the future of the spies’ American-born children, officials said that was up to their parents, indicating they were likely to accompany them to Russia.
However, a lawyer for Vicky Pelaez said the teenage son she had with fellow Russian agent Mikhail Vasenkov during the decades they spent living in New York most likely will remain in the U.S. after she leaves, The Associated Press reported. Attorney John Rodriguez said Pelaez’s 38-year-old son from a prior marriage also will stay behind.
“Successful resolution”
The agents were a far cry from notable American spies for the Soviet Union, such as Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames, who did major damage to national security. In contrast, the agents had been ordered not to seek classified data, and it remains unclear whether they did any harm at all to the U.S. government.
“This was an extraordinary case, developed through years of work by investigators, intelligence lawyers and prosecutors, and the agreement we reached today provides a successful resolution for the United States and its interests,” Attorney General Eric Holder said.
Still, some analysts questioned the rapid release of the Russian agents.
“One thing that makes it harder to recruit people for work like this is the prospect you’re going to be in a world of hurt if you get caught. If the worst you have to worry about is the American government’s catch-and-release policy, what kind of deterrent is that?” said Stephen Sestanovich, a Russia expert who has worked in the White House and State Department.
Indeed, the swap could feed Republican criticism that the Obama administration is soft on Russia. Obama administration officials said the deal illustrated the good working relationship between the former Cold War enemies.
Four alleged spies bound for freedom
Convicts released by Russia in the swap:
Sergei Skripal: A former colonel in the Russian military intelligence, found guilty of passing state secrets to Britain and sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2006. He was accused of revealing the names of several dozen Russian agents working in Europe.
Igor Sutyagin: A military analyst with the USA and Canada Institute, a respected Moscow-based think tank, sentenced to 15 years in 2004 on charges of passing information on nuclear submarines and other weapons to a British company that Russia claimed was a CIA cover. Sutyagin has said the information he provided was available from open sources.
Alexander Zaporozhsky: A former colonel in the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, sentenced in 2003 to 18 years in prison for espionage on behalf of the United States. Zaporozhsky quit the service in 1997 and settled in the United States; Russia enticed him back and arrested him in 2001. He was convicted on charges of passing information about Russian agents working undercover in the United States and about American sources working for Russian intelligence. The U.S. global intelligence company, Stratfor, said that Zaporozhsky was rumored to have passed information leading to the capture of Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames.
Gennady Vasilenko: A former KGB officer employed as a security officer by Russia’s NTV television, was arrested in 2005. In 2006, he was sentenced to three years in prison on murky charges of illegal weapons possession and resistance to authorities. The reasons for his involvement in the swap weren’t immediately clear.
The Associated Press
