A scandal that makes people talk within the walls of the Kremlin. The Russian security services (FSB) announced on Monday August 28 that they had charged a Russian citizen, a former employee of the American diplomacy in Russia, arrested earlier this year and accused of having transmitted to the United States information on the conflict. in Ukraine.
At a time when relations between Russia and Washington, which supports Kiev, are extremely tense, the FSB asked to be able to question, a rare occurrence, two American diplomats accused in this affair.
In mid-May, Moscow announced the arrest of Robert Chonov, a former employee of the American Consulate General in Vladivostok (Far East), accused of “confidential collaboration with a foreign state”. Washington then denounced the “baseless” accusations. On Monday, in a press release, the FSB confirmed that Robert Chonov had been charged with this count, punishable by eight years in prison.
The Russian news agency Ria-Novosti broadcast a video on Monday, shot by the FSB, showing the arrest of the suspect at the bottom of a building. Snow is visible in the streets, suggesting that the arrest dates back to spring or winter. In this same video, the suspect, seated at a table, microphone attached to his polo shirt, then confesses to the camera.
In its statement, the FSB said that Robert Chonov had gathered since September 2022, until his arrest on an unspecified date, information for American diplomacy.
According to the FSB, he carried out these alleged activities “for material compensation” and at the request of “employees of the political service of the American Embassy in Moscow Jeffrey Sullin and David Bernstein”. “It is planned to question the above-mentioned American diplomats, summonses to this effect have been sent to the United States Embassy in Moscow,” the FSB added.
In the FSB video broadcast by the Russian media, we can see the summons addressed to these two diplomats, dated August 11, and demanding that they go to an interview with FSB investigators on August 23 in Moscow.
The information transmitted, according to the FSB, concerned “the conduct of the special military operation (in Ukraine), the (military) mobilization in the Russian regions” and “the problematic elements and the assessment of their influence on the protests of the population for the presidential election in Russia in 2024”.
According to Washington, Robert Chonov had worked for more than 25 years for the American consulate in Vladivostok, until 2021, when Moscow banned the employment of Russian employees in American diplomatic missions.
At the time of his arrest, he worked for a private company providing services to the American embassy in Moscow and carried out press reviews in “respect of Russian laws”, the American State Department assured in May. “The charges against Mr. Chonov are completely baseless,” US Foreign Ministry spokesman Matthew Miller said in response to the indictment.
This “only underscores the increasingly repressive actions the Russian government is taking towards its own citizens,” he said. The spokesperson also denounced the summons sent to American diplomats, recalling Russia’s obligations under the Vienna Convention.
“We strongly protest attempts by Russian security services – promoted by Russian state-controlled media – to intimidate and harass our employees,” said Matthew Miller.
