Cold War recalled: US, Russia swap spies

THE US and Russia orchestrated the largest spy swap since the Cold War, exchanging 10 spies arrested in the US for four convicted in Russia in a tightly choreographed diplomatic dance yesterday at Vienna’s airport.

The exchange was a clear demonstration of President Barack Obama’s “reset” ties between Moscow and Washington, enabling the US to retrieve four Russians, some of whom were suffering through long prison terms.

At least one of the four – ex-colonel Alexander Zaporozhsky – may have exposed information leading to the capture of Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames, two of the most damaging spies ever caught in the US.