New Zealand’s intelligence service cast doubt on July 28 on Russia’s claims that Wellington recruited a man to pass on sensitive information under Moscow’s nose.

The Russian Federal Security Service – commonly known as the FSB – said a man living in the southeastern city of Khabarovsk had been arrested after passing information to New Zealand spies.

The Russian citizen had proactively contacted the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, the FSB said in comments published by local media.

New Zealand then convinced him to pass on information that could damage the security of the Russian Federation, the FSB added.

New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service said it had a “longstanding practice of not commenting on what may or may not be operational matters”.

But it added: “It should also be noted that Russian state media are often not the most reliable source of accurate reporting.”

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he would follow the convention against commenting on intelligence matters.

“I don’t comment on security intelligence issues,” he told reporters.

While New Zealand is not typically associated with sophisticated subterfuge, it is part of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance alongside the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia.

Foreign affairs expert Alexander Gillespie said Russia’s accusations should be taken with “a large bucket of salt”.

“New Zealand has some history of spies and espionage, but it is nearly always with us being spied on,” said Gillespie, a professor at New Zealand’s University of Waikato.

“The history is of Russia spying on us, not the other way around,” he told AFP.

Gillespie said the arrest could be turned into a high profile show-trial used to tarnish the New Zealand government.

“If this gets bad, expect relations between the two countries to sour even further.”

New Zealand is among a host of nations to have hit Russia with s

anctions in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.

-AFP