Russia Locked in Spy Spat With ... Tiny Ireland?

LONDON -- An icy chill has descended on relations between Dublin and Moscow after Ireland booted out a Russian diplomat over the alleged use of forged Irish passports by Russian secret agents.

The government in Dublin ordered the unnamed diplomat's expulsion on Tuesday, after a police investigation concluded that Russian intelligence agencies stole the identities of at least six Irish citizens. Their documents were then allegedly used to provide cover for members of a 10-strong spy ring that was cracked by the U.S. last year.

One member of the cell, so-called "sexy spy" Anna Chapman, allegedly used details snatched from Catherine Sherry, a volunteer with Irish charity To Russia With Love, which works with orphans in the former Soviet state.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has promised to retaliate, but has not yet said whether it will kick an Irish diplomat out of Moscow. "This is an unfounded and unfriendly act, which of course will not go without a corresponding reaction," Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov told RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency, today.

Irish police opened an investigation into the forgeries last July, soon after American authorities busted the spy ring. Detectives concluded that a Russian security agent based at the Dublin embassy stole the details off passports belonging to Irish citizens who applied for tourist visas to Russia, The Associated Press reported. Among those who had their IDs pilfered were Eunan Gerard Doherty and his wife, Maureen, who traveled to Russia on holiday in 2005.

Last February, New Jersey-based spy Vladimir Guryev -- who went under the name Richard Murphy -- flew to Rome, where he met with a Russian operative and picked up a passport in Eunan Doherty's name. He used that document to travel to Moscow for a debriefing and further instruction from his secret service bosses. The real Doherty, a part-time firefighter in Donegal, was brought in for questioning by Irish authorities last July and quickly released.

The Irish government has not confirmed if the diplomat being sent back to Russia is the same person suspected of the forgery. However, a source within the police told The Irish Times they were confident that the correct official had been identified. They added that an arrest would have been impossible because the suspect has diplomatic immunity.

This is the second time in a year that a foreign diplomat has been ordered to leave Ireland because of a passport copying scandal. Last July, the country kicked out an Israeli official after the country's secret service was accused of using five forged Irish passports to secretly enter Dubai and assassinate senior Hamas militant Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. That incident led Dublin to launch a major review of passport security.

Ireland's passports are the travel document of choice for foreign intelligence agencies because the country's neutral status means its citizens have free access to most nations. The country is now hoping that its response to the latest scandal will deter future would-be forgers.

"The government, by today's action, has once again made clear that it will not tolerate the fabrication and use of forged Irish passports by agents of a foreign state," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.