Estland: Russische spion kende geen EU of NAVO geheimen (en)

BRUSSELS - An alleged Russian spy exposed in Estonia did not compromise EU or Nato secrets, Estonia's intelligence chief has told EUobserver.

The Baltic country last week detained Vladimir Veitman, a 63-year-old Estonian intelligence officer, on suspicion of spying for Russia, saying he has confessed to the crime and handed over illicit cash to authorities.

The case is the third one in recent years.

In 2012, Estonia jailed one of its intelligence officers, Aleksei Dressen, for 16 years for spying for its former Soviet master.

In 2009, it jailed Herman Simm, a senior Estonian defence ministry official, for 12 and a half years on similar charges.

The Simm case has gone down as one of the biggest breaches of EU and Nato secrets in recent history, after Simm handed over 386 EU and Nato-related papers on communication systems, counter-intelligence and defence policy, some of which were classified "confidential" or "secret."

But Arnold Sinisalu, the director general of Estonia's internal security service, the Kapo, told this website on Sunday (11 August) that Veitman was less dangerous to Estonia's allies.

"Veitman had no clearance to Nato or EU classified information … According to our present knowledge, no EU or Nato information was compromised," he said.

"He was only focused on Estonian classified information," he noted.

"Veitman was a technical specialist who carried out technical operations … He did not collect information for these operations himself, he was not involved in the planning of operations nor the analysis or assessment of information. He wasn't informed of any sources or their information. He had no commanding position," he added.

Sinisalu said Estonia is a priority target for Russia because the Kremlin is still keen to exert influence on the former Soviet republic.

"Information is a tool of influence. Russian intelligence services and their superior decision makers would probably like to see Estonia in their sphere of influence. High ranked Russian officials have publicly said that they don't like Estonia being a member of Nato and the EU," the spy chief told this website.

He also said that, unlike some countries who prefer to exchange spies with Russia more quietly, Estonia is bound by law to make the matters public even if it harms bilateral relations.

"Estonian constitution and the rule of law don't leave us any other choice - criminals must be brought to justice and this has to be public," he said.

"I think this is the right way. History has taught us how dangerous quiet deals with Russia can be in the long run. Trading any constitutional values for a better reaction from Russia would be a very short-sighted way to go," he added.

He told Estonian press on Friday that Veitman used to work for the KGB, Russia's Cold-War-era intelligence service, before Estonia gained independence.

But Estonia in the early 1990s decided to recruit some former-KGB operatives because of lack of personnel, including people who knew how to operate Soviet-era equipment left behind in the newly-born country.