Russia has fully restored its espionage capabilities against the United States after a period of decline following the Cold War, Joel Brenner, the head of the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive said on March 29.

The United States is concerned that Russia is continuing to ramp up its operations.

“The Russians are now back at Cold War levels in their efforts against the United States,” Brenner was quoted by Associated Press as telling the American Bar Association. “They are sending over an increasing and troubling number of intelligence agents.”

The comments come at a time of greater tension between the two countries, as Russian officials have expressed frustration at what they see as U.S. foreign policy unrestrained by consultation with other world powers, including Russia.

They have criticized the expansion of NATO into the former Soviet sphere of influence and U.S. plans to install radar and interceptors in Eastern Europe as part of a missile defense program.

In turn, U.S. officials have warned that Russia’s increased assertiveness in challenging U.S. policy is complicating cooperation on important foreign-policy goals including counterterrorism, nuclear nonproliferation and democracy promotion in the Mideast.

However, both sides deny that the tension means a return to the Cold War.

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