Accused spy Ryan Fogle leaves Russia (VIDEO)
Russian television showing Fogle’s arrest. Intelligence officers have often carried out what in retrospect seem elementary mistakes.
A US embassy employee accused of spying flew out of Moscow on Sunday, five days after Russian authorities ordered him to leave.
Kremlin-loyal NTV station broadcast footage showed Ryan Fogle going through passport control and security at Sheremetyevo International Airport, according to The Associated Press.
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He was also pictured wheeling a suitcase into the Moscow airport in the company of embassy staff.
Fogle, a 29-year-old third secretary in the US embassy, was accused last week of trying to recruit a counterterrorism officer specializing in the North Caucasus region for the CIA.
When he was arrested, he was wearing a cheap-looking wig, carrying thousands of euros and a note promising his target millions more for good information, according to Russian media.
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While it sounded like something out of a James Bond movie, the arrest immediately put both countries on edge.
Russia immediately demanded an explanation and ordered Fogle to leave the country.
Michael McFaul, the American ambassador to Russia, met with officials in Moscow within days of Fogle's arrest in an attempt to diffuse fallout over the incident.
The US State Department has confirmed that Fogle worked as an embassy employee but has given no details about his job.
The CIA has declined comment.