TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - United States diplomat Ryan Fogle (29), who was accused by Russia of spying in Moskow, flew out of Russia, five days after he was ordered to leave the country.

The Kremlin-loyal NTV station broadcast footage showing Ryan Fogle going through passport control and security at Sheremetyevo international airport.

He also was pictured in the company of embassy staff as he wheeled a suitcase into the Moscow airport, which is used by the airline Delta for its direct flights to New York.

Russian Secret Service announced on Tuesday, May 14, that Fogle, the third secretary of the US embassy, had been caught trying to recruit a Russian counter-terrorism officer. The US embassy has refused to comment on the case.

Fogle case received special concern, given that its contrast to the new measurement between Washington and Moskow to develop a counter-terrorism, following Boston bomb on April 15. Both bomb suspects, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had a root in Russian-based Chechnya.

Tamerlan spent six months last year in Dagestan, now a center of Moslem resistance. US investigators now work with the Russians to ensure if he had established a contact with the militants.

Public only knows little about Fogle’s activity in Russia. US Foreign Department clarified that he worked in the embassy but refused to give details on the job. CIA is yet to comment on this case.

Guardian | Abdul Manan