From AFP: Moscow wants to exchange a married couple of Russian spies jailed this month in Germany for at least one convict jailed in Russia on charges of spying for the West, a report said Monday.
Russia’s Kommersant newspaper said that the Russian secret services wanted to bring the pair — known only by their code names Andreas and Heidrun Anschlag — back home to Russia after decades as "sleepers" in Germany.
In a Cold War-style exchange, Moscow would simultaneously hand over to the West at least one spy convicted of passing secrets to Berlin or its allies, the paper said.
"The process of consultations (with Germany) on a possible exchange was started only recently, after their conviction" on July 2, a Russian security source told the paper.
"We will get our guys out of there," the source added. . . .
It said that possible candidates to be freed in Russia in such an exchange included Andrei Dumenkov, who was jailed in 2006 for 12 years for seeking to hand Germany data on Russian missile designs.
Another name citied is Valery Mikhailov, a former colonel in the Russian security service who was jailed in 2012 for 18 years for spying for the United States. (photo: DPA)