An Austrian ex-colonel suspected of spying for Russia was recruited in 1988 in Tehran, Austrian media reported on Friday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) An Austrian ex-colonel suspected of spying for Russia was recruited in 1988 in Tehran, Austrian media reported on Friday.According to Kronen Zeitung, the ex-colonel was sharing information with Russia for about 20 years. Moscow, in particular, was especially interested in receiving data on Eurofighter jets.
Presse newspaper, on its part, claims that the Russian side provided the suspect with technical equipment for passing information. The media outlet assumed that it could be an ordinary all-wave receiver used for transmitting coded information.
The Austrian counterintelligence service received the information about the ex-colonel's activities from the German intelligence service, Standard newspaper said.
Earlier in he day, Austrian Defense Minister Mario Kunasek told reporters that the suspected ex-colonel handed over the equipment and these devices were now being evaluated.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz earlier on Friday confirmed that the retired Austrian colonel was suspected of espionage for Russia. According to Kurz, Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has canceled her visit to Russia amid the espionage scandal and Vienna was waiting for "transparent" information from Russia about this situation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday he was unpleasantly surprised by the information about the situation with the ex-colonel. Austrian Ambassador Johannes Aigner will be summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry later in the day.
