Russia slams US for deploying spy network to keep an eye on Moscow and China

Amid reports of the US shifting its focus from terrorism to spy over Russia and China, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the United States of its hypocritical stand for the two nations, Sputnik reported on Sunday. Interestingly, the statement from Zakharova came a day after CNN reported the US plan to redraft its spy network and operations towards Russian and Chinese aggression. 

"This is exactly what the US and NATO (as well as CNN) are accusing Russia and China of doing. So can one state engage in intelligence activities against others or not? It would be nice if CNN got an answer to this question from Washington," Zakharova wrote on Telegram on Saturday.

Read the statement released by Zakharova on Telegram:

Earlier on Friday, CNN, citing its sources, reported that the Biden administration has started moulding Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from terrorism to two complex nations, Moscow and Beijing. According to the American news channel, the CIA has prepared a blueprint to strengthen its agents in the remote areas which are strategically and economically important for both China and Russia. The report also mentioned strengthing ties with African nations where the Chinese Communist government has made significant investments in the past decade. Further, the CNN report claimed that the Biden administration will train its spy agents with improved geographic-specific training learning local languages and other understanding essential in a particular regional setting.

Russia slams US for hypocrisy 

Earlier in November, a report prepared by the US Department of Defense called Global Posture Review (GPR) suggested the government focus on building additional cooperation with allies and partners to advance initiatives that contribute to regional stability. Also, the review report suggested the US troops concentrate on counter-terrorism operations and building relations with other nations to counter the target with all sides.

Taking a dig at the report, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said, "On one side, the defence report suggest the Biden administration strengthen its ties with Russia and China, on the other hand, the administration deploys CIA to spy on us." However, the US administration has not replied to the CNN report and the allegation levelled by the Russian diplomat.

(Image: AP)