Moscow is charging the Bush administration with a "double standard" in its dealings with Russia and threatens "a new Cold War" with the United States, according to official Russian sources.

The Bush administration's "double standard," according to Moscow, consists of claiming to strive for improved relations with Russia, while in reality seeking to achieve a position of superiority. "A double standard approach may lead to Russian-U.S. relations to a deadlock from which there is only one way -- a new Cold War."

The statement was carried by the Voice of Russia World Service, the official broadcasting service of the Russian government.

Moscow again condemned what it termed as "hysteria ... which continues in Washington" regarding the Robert Hanssen spy case. Hanssen, a 27-year FBI veteran agent, is accused of providing Russian intelligence with highly sensitive information over the course of 15 years. Hanssen's alleged espionage activities are considered to be one of the gravest breaches of U.S. security in the nation's history.

"This scandal contradicts the statements of the Bush administration about the intention to develop U.S.-Russian relations," Moscow claimed.

In addition to the Hanssen case, Moscow expressed its displeasure over the reception of a representative of Chechnya separatists by a high-ranking U.S. State Department official. Chechnya, a constituent republic of the Russian Federation in the Caucasus region, is currently in the midst of a struggle to gain its independence from Russia.

Ilyas Akhmadov, who bears the title "foreign minister" of Ichkeria (Chechnya), participated in a private discussion with U.S. State Department Acting Special Advisor John Beyrle. Although discussions in recent years have taken place between Chechen separatists and U.S. government officials, this is the first encounter at such a high level.

The Bush administration's foreign policy course, according to Moscow, "is dangerous because it can completely undermine Moscow's confidence in Washington," confirming that U.S. "policy and actions ... are unpredictable."

Russia declared that present U.S. policy would compromise the ability of the two nations to reach international agreements in the future.

"This course may reduce to the minimum the possibility of agreement between the two countries on bilateral and international issues," Moscow warned, adding ominously, "first of all -- nuclear arms reductions."

Recently Russian authorities claimed that "it is not Washington, but Moscow, that has to be afraid of spies," adding that in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian operatives from the U.S., "Russia may expel not 50, but hundreds of American spies." The statements were made as Russian President Vladimir Putin urged that the Hanssen spy case not seriously interfere with U.S.-Russian relations.

In a fit of its own "spy hysteria" last year, Russian authorities brought to trial -- and convicted -- American businessman Edmund Pope on charges observers regarded as unsubstantiated. After sentencing, Putin almost immediately pardoned Pope.

Although the case of Robert Hanssen has become headline news, it is not the only recent major espionage incident. In Miami, Fla., the spy trial of the group of Cuban agents who called themselves the "Wasp Network" continues.

FBI agents exposed the group in 1998, during the Clinton administration, and after several years of investigation amassed some 10,000 pages of information on the spy group.

In addition to various intelligence-gathering activities, one of the group is charged with murder. The Wasp Network is alleged to have close ties with Cuban intelligence -- a significant development in view of Cuba's close ties with Moscow.

Despite its importance to the security of the United States, the Wasp Network trial has not received any major coverage from the establishment media.

FBI Miami spokeswoman Judy Orihuela told WorldNetDaily that the "gag order" placed on the proceedings by trial judge Joan Lenard remains in effect, and discussion of the case at this time is forbidden.

While the hunt for espionage agents among U.S. security agencies spans presidential administrations, so also do contacts with a variety of different political groups. U.S. contacts with the Chechen separatists took place for some years before the current administration took office.

White House spokesman Richard Boucher stated this week that Beyrle met with Akhmadov as an individual, not as a representative of a Chechen state. The meeting was held, according to Boucher, "to promote a peaceful solution to the conflict."

Boucher also stated that the U.S. recognizes Chechnya as part of Russia, that the Chechens must renounce violence, but that, "there can be no military solution to the conflict."

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