Russian anger over U.S. expulsions

The six Russians already expelled are accused of direct contact with alleged spy Robert Hanssen

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A senior Kremlin aide says Moscow "deeply regrets" the decision by the United States to expel more than 40 Russian diplomats.

In the first official reaction from Moscow, President Putin's foreign policy adviser, Sergei Prikhodko, described the move as "a relapse into the Cold War era."

Six of the diplomats have already left the U.S. and Washington has said more than 40 others will also be told to leave. They are accused of contact with alleged spy Robert Hanssen.

It would be the biggest diplomatic expulsion since the 1986 when President Ronald Reagan ordered around 100 Soviet diplomats out of the U.S.

AUDIO CNN's Steve Harrigan: Russian sources say adequate measures will follow 567K/52 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    VIDEO CNN's David Ensor reports on the diplomat reduction effort taken by the U.S. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     ALSO Other recent U.S. expulsions Recalled Russian diplomat said to be Hanssen handler Russia seeks talks with diplomat defector     IN-DEPTH SPECIAL The case against Robert Hanssen     MESSAGE BOARD Espionage case

CNN's Steve Harrigan, in Moscow, said unofficial sources have promised that Russia will respond with "adequate measures" to what they call the "extremely unfriendly" move.

That is being interpreted as a warning that American diplomats will be ordered out of Russia, Harrigan says.

U.S. ambassador James Collins held brief talks at the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday but declined to comment as he left.

"Any comments will come from Washington or from the government here," he told reporters.

The embassy insisted he was keeping a pre-arranged appointment.

A Foreign Ministry official said earlier that diplomats were meeting to discuss the latest twist in relations with the new administration of President George W. Bush. They are already under strain over arms control and Chechnya.

The six Russians already expelled from the U.S. worked at the Russian embassy in Washington and are accused of direct contact with the FBI agent and alleged spy Hanssen.

They will be officially declared persona non grata on Thursday, meaning they are no longer welcome in the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell summoned Russian Ambassador Yuri Ushakov to the State Department to inform him of the decision and of the plans to expel an additional 40 or more Russian diplomats in the future.

Harrigan said Putin -- speaking before the spy row erupted -- had warned the media against over-dramatizing perceived tensions in relations between the U.S. and Russia.

Putin said it was typical that when a new administration took over there would be a re-evaluation of the relationship between the two countries.

The spy saga could, Harrigan believes, be Bush's way of saying that he plans to deal differently with the Russians than his predecessor did.

Hanssen is accused of spying for the Soviet Union, and later Russia, over a period of 15 years, dating back to the days of the Cold War.

It is alleged the six expelled diplomats were actually Russian intelligence agents who collected various classified documents that Hanssen is said to have dropped off in parks around the Washington area.

An intelligence source told CNN earlier this week that the Russian embassy's press attache was Hanssen's handler. Vladimir Frolov was permanently recalled to Russia.

Prosecutors and FBI officials say Hanssen was paid $1.4 million in cash and diamonds for passing top-secret information. He was arrested on February 18 in a northern Virginia park, moments after he dropped a package underneath a footbridge, prosecutors said.

Among other things, investigators believe Hanssen may have told Russians about a secret surveillance tunnel under the Soviet embassy -- now the Russian Embassy -- in Washington.

Hanssen is to appear at a preliminary hearing on May 21. If convicted, he could face the death penalty or life in prison.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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