Russian spies most active in Czech Republic

Warsaw, Aug 22 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russian "special services" are the most active foreign espionage groups in the Czech Republic, the Czech Security Information Service said Wednesday.

The agency's 2011 intelligence report said that Russian spies work under different covers, mainly at Russian diplomatic missions, and in numbers that are utterly unjustified given the current status of Czech-Russian relations.

"Russian intelligence officers were spotted at different public and corporate events, where they tried to resume old contacts and meet new people," the report said.

One of their main targets was the energy sector, and in particular the tender for the completion of the Temelin nuclear power plant, it said.

The report said that based on national security risk assessment, the Czech agency's "main counterintelligence priorities in 2011 were the special services of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China".

However, the report devoted nine paragraphs to Russian espionage and only one to Chinese, and said Chinese intelligence officers "do not pose an immediate risk to Czech citizens".

--IANS/RIA Novosti

pm/vt