Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Friday pardoned two Russians jailed by Vilnius for espionage, an official statement said, paving the way for a possible spy swap with Moscow.

Nauseda signed the decree to pardon Nikolai Filipchenko and Sergei Moisejenko who are serving prison terms for espionage in the Baltic EU and NATO state, according to the statement published on his official website.

Both Russians were sentenced by Lithuanian courts in 2017. They could be exchanged for two Lithuanian citizens, Yevgeny Mataitis and Aristidas Tamosaitis, convicted of spying in Russia in 2016, the Baltic News Service said. &nbsp;

A Norwegian, Frode Berg, convicted of spying and jailed in Russia could also be part of the swap, BNS said, quoting senior officials who requested anonymity.

Nauseda&nbsp;the decree said the Russians were pardoned in line with a new law on spy swaps.&nbsp;

Presidential spokesman Antanas Bubnelis declined further comment when contacted by AFP on Friday.&nbsp;

Lithuanian officials said Filipchenko worked for the FSB Russian federal security service and was trying to recruit senior officials in the Baltic state, which was under Moscow's thumb during the Soviet era.

He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars and did not appeal.&nbsp;

Moisejenko was jailed for 10 years and six months after a Vilnius court ruled he recruited a Lithuanian army captain who served at the country's Siauliai military airbase. He had pleaded innocent.&nbsp;

The two Lithuanians were sentenced in Russia in 2016 for allegedly sharing Russian military intelligence with Lithuania.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Friday pardoned two Russians jailed by Vilnius for espionage, an official statement said, paving the way for a possible spy swap with Moscow.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Friday pardoned two Russians jailed by Vilnius for espionage, an official statement said, paving the way for a possible spy swap with Moscow. Nauseda signed the decree to pardon Nikolai Filipchenko and Sergei Moisejenko who are serving prison terms for espionage in the Baltic EU and NATO state, according to the statement published on his official website. Both Russians were sentenced by Lithuanian courts in 2017. They could be exchanged for two Lithuanian citizens, Yevgeny Mataitis and Aristidas Tamosaitis, convicted of spying in Russia in 2016, the Baltic News Service said. A Norwegian, Frode Berg, convicted of spying and jailed in Russia could also be part of the swap, BNS said, quoting senior officials who requested anonymity. Nauseda the decree said the Russians were pardoned in line with a new law on spy swaps. Presidential spokesman Antanas Bubnelis declined further comment when contacted by AFP on Friday. Lithuanian officials said Filipchenko worked for the FSB Russian federal security service and was trying to recruit senior officials in the Baltic state, which was under Moscow's thumb during the Soviet era. He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars and did not appeal. Moisejenko was jailed for 10 years and six months after a Vilnius court ruled he recruited a Lithuanian army captain who served at the country's Siauliai military airbase. He had pleaded innocent. The two Lithuanians were sentenced in Russia in 2016 for allegedly sharing Russian military intelligence with Lithuania.

Lithuania pardons Russian spies ahead of possible swap with Moscow

Moscow on Monday said that documents presented by the Netherlands last week alleging that Russian agents attempted to hack into the global chemical watchdog organisation were not proof of Moscow's involvement.

Asked by journalists if the Kremlin considers documents released by the Dutch authorities, which include diplomatic passports of four men identifying them as agents of Russian military intelligence, to be proof, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "no" adding that Moscow would "no longer discuss these topics through the media."

"From the point of view of the Kremlin, nothing has changed," he said. "We don't see any detailed argument and would prefer not to comment the details."

"There are functioning channels of communication through relevant agencies... documents, evidence and official information can be sent through these official channels," he said.

The comments were the first reaction by the Kremlin to the accusations by several Western governments last Thursday of a string of global cyber attacks, including on the chemical watchdog OPCW.

Dutch security services said they had expelled four Russian agents in April after they attempted a cyber attack on the OPCW, from a car parked in a nearby hotel.&nbsp;

Their passports and other details, including a taxi receipt for a trip to a Moscow airport from a street containing a branch of the military intelligence agency, were shown to the media.

Russia's foreign ministry was set to summon the Dutch ambassador on Monday, according to Russian state news agencies.

Moscow on Monday said that documents presented by the Netherlands last week alleging that Russian agents attempted to hack into the global chemical watchdog organisation were not proof of Moscow's involvement.

Moscow on Monday said that documents presented by the Netherlands last week alleging that Russian agents attempted to hack into the global chemical watchdog organisation were not proof of Moscow's involvement. Asked by journalists if the Kremlin considers documents released by the Dutch authorities, which include diplomatic passports of four men identifying them as agents of Russian military intelligence, to be proof, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "no" adding that Moscow would "no longer discuss these topics through the media." "From the point of view of the Kremlin, nothing has changed," he said. "We don't see any detailed argument and would prefer not to comment the details." "There are functioning channels of communication through relevant agencies... documents, evidence and official information can be sent through these official channels," he said. The comments were the first reaction by the Kremlin to the accusations by several Western governments last Thursday of a string of global cyber attacks, including on the chemical watchdog OPCW. Dutch security services said they had expelled four Russian agents in April after they attempted a cyber attack on the OPCW, from a car parked in a nearby hotel. Their passports and other details, including a taxi receipt for a trip to a Moscow airport from a street containing a branch of the military intelligence agency, were shown to the media. Russia's foreign ministry was set to summon the Dutch ambassador on Monday, according to Russian state news agencies.

Netherlands has no proof of alleged Russian hacking plot: Dmitry Peskov

Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin said on Saturday that he believed that Moscow and London would be able to restore friendly relations despite the recent major deterioration in bilateral relations.

"All wars end with peace," Naryshkin said in an interview with the Rossiya television channel when asked whether the two countries, which had fought against fascism together, will eventually overcome their differences.

The bilateral relations took a nosedive in March, when the United Kingdom claimed that Russia had orchestrated the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Moscow has refuted these allegations, arguing that London had not provided evidence to substantiate its claims.

On Thursday, London said that the Russian military intelligence service GRU was "almost certainly" responsible for a number of cyberattacks on political institutions, media outlets and companies around the world.&nbsp;

Moscow has repeatedly denied all allegations about its involvement in any cyberattacks, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying that the recent claims were a part of yet another anti-Russia campaign. 
&nbsp;

Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin said on Saturday that he believed that Moscow and London would be able to restore friendly relations despite the recent major deterioration in bilateral relations.

Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin said on Saturday that he believed that Moscow and London would be able to restore friendly relations despite the recent major deterioration in bilateral relations. "All wars end with peace," Naryshkin said in an interview with the Rossiya television channel when asked whether the two countries, which had fought against fascism together, will eventually overcome their differences. The bilateral relations took a nosedive in March, when the United Kingdom claimed that Russia had orchestrated the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Moscow has refuted these allegations, arguing that London had not provided evidence to substantiate its claims. On Thursday, London said that the Russian military intelligence service GRU was "almost certainly" responsible for a number of cyberattacks on political institutions, media outlets and companies around the world. Moscow has repeatedly denied all allegations about its involvement in any cyberattacks, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying that the recent claims were a part of yet another anti-Russia campaign.

All wars end with peace: Russian Foreign Intelligence Service head on Russia, UK relations

Yulia Skripal survived an assassination attempt that UK authorities blame on Russia. But the daughter of one of Russia's most famous spies says she wants to return to her country "in the longer term", despite the poisoning.

"The fact that a nerve agent was used to do this is shocking," Skripal told Reuters in an exclusive statement. "My life has been turned upside down."

Yulia and her father Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service, were found unconscious on a public bench in the British city of Salisbury on March 4.

Yulia Skripal, 33, was in a coma for 20 days.

"I woke to the news that we had both been poisoned," Skripal said in her first media appearance since the poisoning. She contacted Reuters through the British police.

Skripal was speaking from a secret location in London as she is under the protection of the British state. She was discharged from Salisbury District Hospital about five weeks after the poisoning and has not been seen by the media until now.

"We are so lucky to have both survived this attempted assassination. Our recovery has been slow and extremely painful," she said in her written English statement.

"As I try to come to terms with the devastating changes thrust upon me both physically and emotionally, I take one day at a time and want to help care for my Dad till his full recovery. In the longer term I hope to return home to my country."

Skripal spoke in Russian and supplied a statement that she said she had written herself in both Russian and English. She signed both documents after making her statement.

She declined to answer questions after speaking to camera.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the Skripals were poisoned with Novichok, a deadly group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet military in the 1970s and 1980s. May blames Russia for the poisoning.

It was the first known use of a military-grade nerve agent on European soil since World War Two. Allies in Europe and the United States sided with May's view and ordered the biggest expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War.

Russia retaliated by expelling Western diplomats. Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement and accused the British intelligence agencies of staging the attack to stoke anti-Russian hysteria.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he thought Yulia Skripal was speaking under duress.

"We have not seen her or heard from her," he said when asked to comment on the story.

After Reuters published a video of Yulia Skripal's statement, the Russian Embassy in London said it was glad Skripal was "alive and well" but that Russia still had concerns, and believed the text had been written by a native English speaker before being translated into Russian.

"With all respect for Yulia's privacy and security, this video does not discharge the UK authorities from their obligations under Consular Conventions," the Embassy said in a statement.

"The UK is obliged to give us the opportunity to speak to Yulia directly in order to make sure that she is not held against her own will and is not speaking under pressure. So far, we have every reason to suspect the opposite."

'NO ONE SPEAKS FOR ME'

Russia's ambassador in London, Alexander Yakovenko, has repeatedly demanded to see Yulia, who was a Russian citizen when she was poisoned.

"I'm grateful for the offers of assistance from the Russian Embassy. But at the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services," Skripal, who wore a light blue summer dress and bore a scar on her throat, said.

"Also, I want to reiterate what I said in my earlier statement, that no one speaks for me, or for my father but ourselves." &nbsp&nbsp

Mystery surrounds the attack. The motive is unclear, as is the logic of using such an exotic nerve agent which has overt links to Russia's Soviet past.

Russian officials question why Russia would want to attack an ageing turncoat who was pardoned and swapped in a Kremlin-approved 2010 spy swap.

President Vladimir Putin, himself a former KGB spy, said earlier this month that Skripal would have been dead if he was attacked with a weapons grade agent. &nbsp

"I don't want to describe the details but the clinical treatment was invasive, painful and depressing," she said in Russian.&nbsp

Yulia's father was discharged from hospital on May 18. At one point doctors feared both patients could have suffered brain damage. He is no longer in a critical condition, Salisbury hospital said.

NERVE AGENT ATTACK

Born as a citizen of a superpower, Yulia grew up as the Soviet Union crumbled and then in the chaos that followed its 1991 collapse.

Her Facebook page says she started studying at Moscow's School No. 63 in 1991 before gaining admission to Moscow State Humanities University in 2001, a year after Putin was first elected as Russian president.

In December 2004, her father was arrested by Federal Security Service agents on suspicion of treason: passing secrets to Britain's MI6 intelligence agency.

Skripal, recruited by British spies while in Spain, ended up in Britain after a Cold War-style spy swap that brought 10 Russian spies captured in the United States back to Moscow in exchange for those accused by Moscow of spying for the West.

Yulia arrived in Britain from Russia at London's Heathrow Airport at about 1440 GMT on March 3 on one of her regular visits to her father. The pair were found unconscious a day later.

"I am grateful to all of the wonderful, kind staff at Salisbury hospital, a place I have become all too familiar with. I also think fondly of those who helped us on the street on the day of the attack."

Yulia and her father Sergei survived an assassination attempt that UK authorities blame on Russia. Sergei was a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service

Yulia Skripal survived an assassination attempt that UK authorities blame on Russia. But the daughter of one of Russia's most famous spies says she wants to return to her country "in the longer term", despite the poisoning. "The fact that a nerve agent was used to do this is shocking," Skripal told Reuters in an exclusive statement. "My life has been turned upside down." Yulia and her father Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service, were found unconscious on a public bench in the British city of Salisbury on March 4. Yulia Skripal, 33, was in a coma for 20 days. "I woke to the news that we had both been poisoned," Skripal said in her first media appearance since the poisoning. She contacted Reuters through the British police. Skripal was speaking from a secret location in London as she is under the protection of the British state. She was discharged from Salisbury District Hospital about five weeks after the poisoning and has not been seen by the media until now. "We are so lucky to have both survived this attempted assassination. Our recovery has been slow and extremely painful," she said in her written English statement. "As I try to come to terms with the devastating changes thrust upon me both physically and emotionally, I take one day at a time and want to help care for my Dad till his full recovery. In the longer term I hope to return home to my country." Skripal spoke in Russian and supplied a statement that she said she had written herself in both Russian and English. She signed both documents after making her statement. She declined to answer questions after speaking to camera. British Prime Minister Theresa May said the Skripals were poisoned with Novichok, a deadly group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet military in the 1970s and 1980s. May blames Russia for the poisoning. It was the first known use of a military-grade nerve agent on European soil since World War Two. Allies in Europe and the United States sided with May's view and ordered the biggest expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War. Russia retaliated by expelling Western diplomats. Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement and accused the British intelligence agencies of staging the attack to stoke anti-Russian hysteria. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he thought Yulia Skripal was speaking under duress. "We have not seen her or heard from her," he said when asked to comment on the story. After Reuters published a video of Yulia Skripal's statement, the Russian Embassy in London said it was glad Skripal was "alive and well" but that Russia still had concerns, and believed the text had been written by a native English speaker before being translated into Russian. "With all respect for Yulia's privacy and security, this video does not discharge the UK authorities from their obligations under Consular Conventions," the Embassy said in a statement. "The UK is obliged to give us the opportunity to speak to Yulia directly in order to make sure that she is not held against her own will and is not speaking under pressure. So far, we have every reason to suspect the opposite." 'NO ONE SPEAKS FOR ME' Russia's ambassador in London, Alexander Yakovenko, has repeatedly demanded to see Yulia, who was a Russian citizen when she was poisoned. "I'm grateful for the offers of assistance from the Russian Embassy. But at the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services," Skripal, who wore a light blue summer dress and bore a scar on her throat, said. "Also, I want to reiterate what I said in my earlier statement, that no one speaks for me, or for my father but ourselves." Mystery surrounds the attack. The motive is unclear, as is the logic of using such an exotic nerve agent which has overt links to Russia's Soviet past. Russian officials question why Russia would want to attack an ageing turncoat who was pardoned and swapped in a Kremlin-approved 2010 spy swap. President Vladimir Putin, himself a former KGB spy, said earlier this month that Skripal would have been dead if he was attacked with a weapons grade agent. "I don't want to describe the details but the clinical treatment was invasive, painful and depressing," she said in Russian. Yulia's father was discharged from hospital on May 18. At one point doctors feared both patients could have suffered brain damage. He is no longer in a critical condition, Salisbury hospital said. NERVE AGENT ATTACK Born as a citizen of a superpower, Yulia grew up as the Soviet Union crumbled and then in the chaos that followed its 1991 collapse. Her Facebook page says she started studying at Moscow's School No. 63 in 1991 before gaining admission to Moscow State Humanities University in 2001, a year after Putin was first elected as Russian president. In December 2004, her father was arrested by Federal Security Service agents on suspicion of treason: passing secrets to Britain's MI6 intelligence agency. Skripal, recruited by British spies while in Spain, ended up in Britain after a Cold War-style spy swap that brought 10 Russian spies captured in the United States back to Moscow in exchange for those accused by Moscow of spying for the West. Yulia arrived in Britain from Russia at London's Heathrow Airport at about 1440 GMT on March 3 on one of her regular visits to her father. The pair were found unconscious a day later. "I am grateful to all of the wonderful, kind staff at Salisbury hospital, a place I have become all too familiar with. I also think fondly of those who helped us on the street on the day of the attack."

Life turned 'upside down', says Yulia Skripal, but someday she wants to return to Russia