Alleged Russian spy vanishes in Cyprus

Police in Cyprusare searching for an alleged Russian spy wanted in the United States who vanished after being released on bail in the Mediterranean island nation.

Christopher Robert Metsos, 54, who says he is Canadian, failed to report to police in the southern coastal town of Larnaca between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. local time (11 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET) Wednesday according to the terms of release imposed on him Tuesday by a Cypriot court, said police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos.

He said a search failed to locate Metsos and authorities planto issue a warrant for his arrest for breaching the terms of his release.

Andreas Pastellides, one of two lawyers representing Metsos in Cyprus, told the Associated Press that they'd had no contact with their client since Tuesday afternoon.

Pastellides said Metsos did not show up for a meeting he was supposed to have Wednesday afternoon in Larnaca with Pastellides' partner, Michalis Papathanasiou.

Dean Boyd, spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department's national security division, said he was aware of the media reports regarding Metsos, but is "going to have to defer to Cyprus authorities for comment."

Metsos had been staying at a hotel in Larnaca.

Metsos could have slipped into the Turkish Cypriot north of the island, which is recognized by no country other than Turkey and has no formal extradition treaties with other countries. The north is linked to Turkey by an airport and ferry services. There are no direct air links to any country other than Turkey, but a ferry service runs between the northern port of Famagusta and Latakia, Syria.

Relations unaffected: foreign ministry

Russia's foreign ministry saidWednesday it expects a developing spy scandal won't affect relations with the United States.

"We expect that the incident involving the arrest in theUnited States of a group of people suspected of spying for Russia will not negatively affect Russian-U.S. relations," said an unnamed Russian official quoted by theInterfax news agency.

Russia's foreign ministry said it concurs with comments made byWhite House spokesman Robert Gibbswhen he said Tuesday that the arrest of 11 people alleged to be Russian spies living in the U.S.wasa law enforcement issue that won't have any political fallout.

Moscow has admitted that some of the accused are Russian citizens. On Tuesday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also downplayed the possibility of political falloutas he met with former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

Four of the those arrested claim to be Canadian, and the FBI said one of the accused assumed the identity of an infant who died in Montreal more than 40 years ago.

The FBI alleges those arrested were trying to breach policy-making circles, presumably with the end goal of influencing them and sending intelligence back to Russia.

Intelligence specialist David Harris said it's safe to assume spies are trying to do the same thing in Canada.

"We know from Canada's own history we've been penetrated by such organizations in the past," he said.

Harris added that Russia is not the only concern.

"In these days, when we have a good deal of extremism out there and have had imposed on us a global war of sorts, it's useful to remember that nation states, including hostile ones, can have very close relationships with terrorist organizations that can target us," he said.