New Zealand's intelligence service on Tuesday cast doubt on Russian claims that Wellington recruited a Russian citizen to pass sensitive information to its intelligence agency.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said a man living in the southeastern city of Khabarovsk had been arrested on suspicion of passing information to New Zealand intelligence.
According to the FSB, the Russian citizen had proactively contacted New Zealand's Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS), which then encouraged him to collect and share information that could harm Russia's national security.
The NZSIS declined to comment directly on the allegations, citing its "longstanding practice of not commenting on what may or may not be operational matters."
However, 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 also declined to comment on the claims.
"I don't comment on security intelligence issues," he told reporters.
‘It is us being spied on’
While New Zealand is not widely associated with global espionage operations, it is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance alongside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
Alexander Gillespie, a professor of law at the University of Waikato, urged caution over Russia's allegations.
"They should be taken with a large bucket of salt," he said.
"New Zealand has some history of spies and espionage, but it is nearly always with us being spied on."
"The history is of Russia spying on us, not the other way around," Gillespie told AFP.
He said the case could become a high-profile show trial aimed at damaging New Zealand's reputation.
"If this gets bad, expect relations between the two countries to sour even further."
New Zealand is among the countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its war on Ukraine.
