MOSCOW, May 14 (RAPSI) - Russian counterintelligence officials detained an alleged US spy who had been working under the cover for the US Embassy in Moscow, the Federal Security Service's (FSB) Public Relations Center told journalists Tuesday.

The FSB reported that its officers had detained career US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) staffer Ryan Christopher Fogle, who was working under the cover of third secretary of the political department of the US Embassy in Moscow, on the night of 13 to 14 May amid a recruitment attempt.

Fogle had with him at the time of his arrest specialized technical equipment, written instructions for the Russian whom he had hoped to recruit, a large sum of money, and means of appearance modification.

The detainee was delivered to the FSB and following the necessary procedures was turned over to official representatives of the US Embassy.

US Ambassador Michael McFaul has declined to comment on these developments. When a Twitter user requested his confirmation of the story, McFaul responded with a simple "No."

News of the detention broke just as McFaul started a live Q&A session on Twitter. He declined to comment on the incident, but the timing of the FSB statement led some bloggers to speculate that its release had deliberately been timed to coincide with the session.

The FSB concluded its statement on the latest incident by saying it had recently registered multiple attempts by US intelligence to recruit agents from among Russian law enforcement and special services.