Kremlin demands swift response to spy threat

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev urged Russia's security agency on Thursday to act decisively against a persistent threat from foreign espionage, Russian news agencies reported.

A series of spy scandals contributed to an increasing chill in relations with the West under Medvedev's predecessor Vladimir Putin, a long-time KGB officer.

Putin cast Russia as beset by foreign forces eager to bring it to its knees, and he cracked down on NGOs he accused of serving masters abroad. Medvedev, Putin's hand-picked successor, has largely steered clear of such rhetoric and has overseen legislation moderately easing controls on NGOs.

But the ITAR-TASS agency quoted him as telling top officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB), domestic successor of the Soviet KGB: "The interest of foreign intelligence services in our state secrets and the newest developments by our scientists is not weakening."

Relations with the United States and Britain, Moscow's main foes in the espionage battles of the Cold War and beyond, have improved after hitting long-time lows following Russia's war with pro-Western Georgia in 2008.