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Israeli spy sought details of Russian-Arab military deals

By on Monday, May 23rd, 2011

The Israeli military attache expelled by Moscow for spying tried to obtain information about Russian military cooperation with Arab and CIS states, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday.

Israeli Embassy official Vadim Leiderman was detained while meeting with a Russian army officer at a cafe in Moscow last week. He was interrogated by FSB agents and ordered to leave the country in 48 hours. Israeli security officials said they cleared Leiderman of espionage after a thorough interrogation and claimed Russia’s accusations were “baseless and false.”

“The existing documents fully expose his hostile activities against Russia,” FSB press service said in a statement.

“Leiderman tried to obtain secret information from several Russian state officials about the prospects for bilateral military cooperation and Russia’s aid to Arab and CIS states,” FSB said.

Russia’s weapons supplies to Israel’s longtime enemies Syria and Iran have long been a sticking point in otherwise friendly bilateral relations.

Tel Aviv and Washington have repeatedly asked Russia not to sell Iran the truck-mounted S-300, which can shoot down hostile missiles or aircraft up to 150 km (90 miles) away.

Israel also says Russian supplies of P-800 Yakhont supersonic cruise missiles to Syria pose a significant danger to its naval vessels in the Mediterranean and could upset the strategic balance in the region.

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