US spy chief Panetta led spy swap negotiations

The talks leading to the largest US-Russian spy swap began when Panetta approached Russia's spy chief with a proposed deal.

The talks leading to the largest US-Russian spy swap since the Cold War began when CIA director Leon Panetta approached Russia’s spy chief with a proposed deal,a US official says.

Panetta already had developed “a sound relationship” with Fradkov,head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service,the SVR,which allowed the two former adversaries to clinch the deal quickly.

They agreed to trade 10 Russian sleeper agent arrested in the United States for four prisoners Russia had jailed as spies for the United States.

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The talks that led to today’s exchange of spies in Vienna began,the official said,shortly after the FBI arrested the Russian agents in the United States,because both sides wanted a speedy resolution of the case to avoid casting a pall over improving US-Russian relations.

Other US government figures helped Panetta negotiate the diplomatic angles of the talks,the official added,speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

The official added that the CIA and FBI already “basically knew everything about the Russian network when we rolled it up.”

He said that while the United States could have followed through with all the charges and locked up the Russian agents for years,it was clear the 10 Russian agents were more valuable as a trade.