The United States sharply rejected allegations Friday by the chief of Russian intelligence that Washington has used non-governmental organizations and the Peace Corps for espionage and subversion
U.S. Embassy rejects Russian allegations of spying by Peace Corps, NGOs
Updated at 19:34 on May 13, 2005, EST.
MOSCOW (AP) - The United States sharply rejected allegations Friday by the chief of Russian intelligence that Washington has used non-governmental organizations and the Peace Corps for espionage and subversion.
Nikolai Patrushev, director of Russia's Federal Security Service, made the accusations Thursday and directed similar allegations at British, Saudi and Kuwaiti groups.
A statement from the U.S. Embassy said Washington "categorically rejects charges...that American non-governmental organizations are being used to carry out intelligence operations against Russia in the guise of charitable and other activities. Moreover, allegations that the U.S. Peace Corps has been involved in intelligence activities are completely unfounded and untrue."
The Peace Corps pulled out of Russia in 2003 amid spying allegations.
When the program was closed: "The Russian government expressed its gratitude for the assistance Peace Corps had provided," the embassy statement said.
Patrushev said the groups are being used not only for espionage but to promote political upheaval in former Soviet republics.
The Kremlin has watched with displeasure as uprisings overthrew governments in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan over the last three months. All three countries are part of what Russia regards as its historical sphere of influence.
Key figures in those uprisings have had contact with western groups Russia accuses of fomenting revolution. Among those groups is the International Republican Institute, which receives most of its money from the U.S. government.
The embassy statement did not mention the IRI by name but said Russians who have worked with the Peace Corps and NGOs "are now taking more active roles in the civic and economic lives of their communities."
Patrushev said the International Republican Institute held a meeting in Slovakia last month where "the possibility of continuing 'velvet revolutions' on the post-Soviet space was discussed."
He also said the IRI has earmarked $5 million US to finance opposition groups in Belarus this year.
On Thursday, IRI spokeswoman Lisa Gates said from Washington the organization spends about $500,000 annually on programs in Belarus and none of it goes to political parties. She said the IRI's Eurasia division held a staff retreat in Slovakia to discuss its programs.
The Slovak Foreign Ministry demanded Russia explain the allegations.
In a short statement, the ministry's spokesman Juraj Tomaga said the Russian Embassy's charge d'affaires in Slovakia was called to the ministry and "asked for an explanation of these statements."
Russia's neighbour Belarus is widely expected to see rising suversive activity, with last year's Orange Revolution in neighboring Ukraine encouraging opposition to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
On Friday, Stepan Sukhorenko, head of Belarus's security service, which has retained the Soviet-era acronym KGB, was quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax saying: "We are well aware of preparations from abroad to change the powers in Belarus."
