US DoS Not Commenting on Re-Establishment of Anti-Russian Spy Committee

The US State Department does not provide any comments on the pending legislation aimed at re-creating a Cold War-era body to counter Russian espionage, the department’s spokesperson Nicole Thompson told Sputnik on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Monday, a BuzzFeed news outlet report cited a US intelligence community source saying the proposed intelligence bill in Congress calls for a revival of the Cold War-era group to counter Russian spies and Russian-sponsored assassinations in the United States.

"Since this is a question on pending legislation, we don’t have a comment on it," Thompson said.

Senator Richard Burr’s press office said last month that the 2017 Intelligence Authorization Bill, which was passed by the Senate Intelligence Committee in May, "requires the President to establish an interagency committee to counter Russian active measures," however, no details on the requirements were provided.

The bill calls on restricting Russian diplomats travel within the United States without official notifications to US authorities, limiting it to a 50-mile perimeter around the Russian embassy, according to media reports. All movement outside that perimeter would have to be investigated by the security services.

The Intelligence Authorization Bill must now be passed by the Senate.

Since 2014, relations between Russia and the United States deteriorated. Washington and its allies have introduced several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions over the reunification of Crimea with Russia and Moscow’s alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict.

Russia has repeatedly refuted the allegations, warning that the Western sanctions are counterproductive and undermine global stability.