'Secret tunnel' may trigger major row

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, MARCH 5. A new scandal is about to break out in Russian- American relations, with Moscow seeking clarification from Washington regarding reports of a secret surveillance tunnel built under the Russian Embassy in the United States.

The New York Times and CNN quoted American sources on Monday as saying a tunnel had been built in the 1970s and 1980s to eavesdrop on the Russian Embassy in Washington. The tunnel reportedly cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build and operate and was the most expensive clandestine intelligence operation in U.S. history.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. Charge D'Affaires in Moscow, Mr. George Krol, to demand official explanations over the tunnel reports. ``If these reports prove correct, they may amount to a blatant violation of recognised norms of international law, valid throughout the world in relation to diplomatic missions,'' the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The existence of the tunnel came to light after a senior official of the Federal Bureau of Investigations was arrested in the U.S. last month on charges of spying for Russia. Mr. Robert Hanssen, a 25-year FBI veteran, is said to have told Moscow about the tunnel and the Russians had used the information to feed false information to U.S. counter-espionage services. The U.S. Vice- President, Mr. Dick Cheney, refused to confirm on Sunday whether the tunnel existed but said he believed the alleged spy may have caused considerable damage to U.S. security. A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service did not rule out that reports of the tunnel under the Russian Embassy in Washington ``are true to fact''.

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Section  : International
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