US ambassador summoned by Russian foreign ministry over spy scandal

MOSCOW – The U.S. Ambassador to Russia has been summoned by the Russian foreign ministry in connection with an alleged spy detention in Moscow.

Michael McFaul entered the ministry’s building in central Moscow Wednesday morning and left half an hour later without saying a word to journalists waiting outside the compound.

Russia’s Federal Security Service said Tuesday that it briefly detained Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, who was carrying special technical equipment, disguises, written instructions and a large sum of money. Fogle was later handed over to U.S. Embassy officials.

The detention of Fogle appeared to be the first case of an American diplomat publicly accused of spying in about a decade and seemed certain to put further strain on relations between the two countries.