Russia has expelled Israel’s military attache at its Moscow embassy on “unfounded” spying allegations, the Israeli military said on Wednesday, in a case that media say has officials in Jerusalem puzzled.
“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] military attache and ministry of defense representative in Russia, an IDF colonel, was detained for investigation last week by Russian authorities on suspicion of spying,” the Israeli Ministry of Defense said.
The statement did not name the man, who it said had been due to complete his posting in two months.
“Security authorities in Israel completed a thorough investigation and concluded that these claims were unfounded,” it added.
Military sources identified him as Colonel Vadim Leiderman and said he returned to Israel several days ago after being questioned by Russian authorities over espionage allegations and then being told to leave the country immediately.
Israel’s state-run Channel One television station said he was arrested while sitting at a cafe with a Russian.
“He was suspected by the Russians of running several local residents,” the network said. “He was taken in for questioning in Moscow about 10 days ago, the police asked him some questions. Because of his diplomatic immunity, they were not able to do more, but he was asked to immediately leave the country and he did so.”
It said that in Israel he was “cleared of all suspicion” after interrogation by his military superiors and by agents of the Shin Bet security agency.
Ynet, the Web site of top-selling Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot, said Leiderman “maintains that the allegations are baseless and false, and that the entire incident is rooted in a misunderstanding.”
“The past few days have seen hectic efforts by Israel to appease Moscow and stop the already grave diplomatic incident from escalating further, but the Russians seem adamant to exhaust all the legal measures at their disposal against the officer. Israel has substantial political and security interests in Russia, and is now concentrating on damage control,” Ynet said.
Israeli media reported the incident occurred during visit to Moscow by the Israeli parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
“Sources in Israel said that the reason for the expulsion was not yet clear and that they had not received a detailed explanation from the Russians,” Ynet said.
Israel daily Haaretz’s Web site said Leiderman “was arrested during a May 12 meeting, in what appeared to be a violation of his diplomatic immunity.”
Leiderman was born in the Soviet Union, speaks fluent Russian, holds a doctorate in engineering and is an air force technical expert, it said, adding he spent several years as an air force representative in the US.
“Israeli officials found it hard to explain the motivation for the arrest, estimating that it might have had its source in a power struggle between various Russian security services,” Haaretz added.
On a visit to Moscow in March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to persuade Russia to scale down its nuclear cooperation with Iran and its arms sales to Syria, both seen in Israel as strategic threats.
Russia is a key supplier of arms to the Arab world and has agreed to send a large shipment of anti-ship Yakhont cruise missiles to Syria — a country still technically at war with Israel.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese