Lithuania takes a step toward spy swap with Russia

Lithuania’s president has pardoned two Russians convicted of spying, a move seen as a step toward a spy swap with neighboring Russia that could include a Norwegian citizen serving a 14-year sentence for espionage in a Russian jail

Lithuania’s president has pardoned two Russians convicted of spying, his office said Friday, a move seen as a step toward a spy swap with neighboring Russia that could include a Norwegian citizen serving a 14-year sentence for espionage.

President Gitanas Nauseda’s office announced the pardons for Nikolai Filipchenko and Sergey Moiseyenko, along with three unrelated pardons. Lithuania’s parliament last week voted to give its president the right to pardon a convict involved in a spy swap deal.

In return, two Lithuanians — Yevgeny Mataitis and Aristidas Tamosaitis — who both were sentenced in 2016 for spying in Russia could be released, as could Frode Berg, a retired Norwegian border inspector.

Berg, 63, was arrested in Moscow in December 2017 on espionage charges for collecting information about Russian nuclear submarines. Prosecutors asserted that he was caught with documents he had received from an employee of a military facility who was shadowed by Russian intelligence.

BNS, the Baltic countries’ main news agency, said Nauseda signed the decree on Thursday.

It wasn’t clear what the next step might be or when it would happen.