Russia holds American businessman on spying charges

The United States' grudging response to Moscow's intervention in the Iraq crisis has injected a seasonal frostiness into relations between the former Cold War foes, but yesterday the chill deepened with the announcement that an American is being held in Russia on spying charges.

The man was arrested a week ago by agents from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), who claim he was found taking land surveys of sensitive sites using satellite transmitters which had been brought into Russian illegally. Publicity surrounding the arrest of the American - named by the Russians as Richard Bliss, a businessman from a communications company based in San Diego, California - prompted an immediate rebuttal from the US embassy in Moscow.

A spokesman said he had no connection with the US government and was "certainly not a spy". The spokesman confirmed that a second American had been questioned and released.

This is the first instance of spying allegations being levelled at a US citizen since August 1995, when a US army captain was deported. According to the Russian news agency Interfax, Mr Bliss is accused of obtaining secret information about buildings in Rostov and nearby Bataisk, while allegedly doing survey work.