Two planes – one with 10 Russian agents deported from the USA, including sexy super-spy Anna Chapman;
the other carrying four Russians jailed for improper contacts with
the West – have landed in Vienna as
part of a speedily-arranged spy swap.
The 10 USA-based spies pleaded guilty in a Manhattan
courtroom to acting as unregistered foreign agents for Russia,
a charge which is well short of espionage.
They only spent a few days in
jail since their arrests in the United States last month; in prior
cases, spies spent years behind bars before being exchanged.
American officials saw no point in holding the agents, saying
authorities had monitored their activities for years and had unraveled
their network.
Obama administration officials said they had been eager
to win the release of the four Russians, some of whom have spent long
stretches in prison and are in poor health.
The deal was expected to remove an irritant from the USA-Russia
relationship, which has improved markedly under the Obama
administration.
While the tale of the spies may seem like a movie script, the 10 agents have signed plea agreements
forfeiting their rights
to sell their stories in any form. They also had to forfeit their US properties and bank accounts.
Since news of the spy ring broke last month it has been revealed Chapman ingratiated herself with a member of the House of Lords in an attempt to worm her way into the British establishment. The 28-year-old minx apparrently used her charm and guile to befriend the unnamed peer who is believed to be a eminent QC.
