Russia Reform Monitor: No. 1682

June 27:

The longstanding territorial dispute between Russia and Japan over the Southern Kurils may be inching toward resolution. Japan Today reports that Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have agreed to “seek progress” in resolving the dispute, while Prime Minister Kan called the resolution “the ardent wish of the Japanese people.” Japan seeks the return of Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and Habomai, all four islands currently under Russian control.

The British and Russian heads of state are moving forward with their own “reset” of bilateral relations. British Prime Minister David Cameron and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met while attending the G8 summit, reports Gulf Today, and agreed on the need for “certain changes” in the relations between their countries. Disputes soured ties in recent years, including the “death by poisoning” of former Russian spy and vocal Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko back in 2006.

Polish and Russian justice officials have also taken another step toward greater legal cooperation between their countries. It was agreed, reports New Europe, that within the next two weeks, a plan will be drafted for legal cooperation between the Polish and Russian ministries for the years 2010-2012. The Russian justice minister reportedly sees the agreement as an opportunity for “further cooperation between the ministries.”


June 29:

In a throwback to the spy wars of the Cold War era, eleven suspected Russian spies have been arrested by U.S. authorities. According to the Wall Street Journal, the alleged spies have reportedly been embedded in suburbs across the United States since the early 1990s, placed deep undercover to “infiltrate U.S. society and glean its secrets.” The affidavit released by the FBI details the work of Russia's foreign intelligence service, the SVR, to create new lives for its alleged operatives in locations across the United States, including Virginia, New York, and Washington, with the assignment to build ties to policymaking circles in the U.S.

The motives behind the operation remain unclear, though U.S. officials insist that no state secrets were compromised, despite the often-elaborate methods used by the organization. Some operated encrypted computers and private networks, and communicated via coded bursts of information sent with radio transmitters, while other used “steganography,” the embedding of messages in images posted on public websites.

Though a major success for U.S. intelligence, the timing of the arrests has drawn criticism from Russian officials, who have called the U.S. actions “unfounded” and “unseemly.” The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed “regret that the arrests came even though President Barack Obama had moved to ‘reset’ U.S. relations with Russia.” Prime Minister Vladimir Putin echoed the sentiment, adding “I’m counting on the fact that the positive trend seen in the relationship will not be harmed by these events.”


June 30:

Like the Kremlin, the State Department appears eager to forget the latest episode of Russian espionage. According to the Associated Press, Foggy Bottom has formally said that it has no intention of expelling Russian diplomats from the country in retaliation for the apprehended Russian spies. Indeed, U.S. officials have said they foresee “no further diplomatic fallout” from the incident.