A Russian spy who apparently defected to the West last month had been recalled home in a scaling-down of Moscow's intelligence activities, a senior Russian diplomat said Friday.
Ambassador to France Yuri Ryzhov said Paris Embassy counselor Viktor Oshchenko had been due to leave Aug. 8."Maybe it was his impending departure which pushed him to this step," Ryzhov said.
Oshchenko fled to Britain with his wife and 14-year-old daughter, Olga, in July. He has asked for political asylum.
Moscow says it suspects he had turned "double agent" for the West.
Oshchenko, 52, disappeared July 24 after sending his Volga car back to Russia, Izvestia said. His absence was first noted two days later when his elder daughter telephoned from St. Petersburg to ask him what to do with the car.
Ryzhov said the Russian leadership had turned its relationship with foreign governments into one of partnership since the collapse of the Soviet Union last December.