MOSCOW, Feb 10: A military court on Friday convicted a Russian officer of passing missile secrets to the CIA and sentenced him to 13 years in prison, officials said.

Lt-Col Vladimir Nesterets also was stripped of his military rank after he pleaded guilty to passing classified information about Russian missile tests to the CIA for money, said the Federal Security Service, the main agency that replaced the KGB.

The agency said Nesterets committed treason as he worked as a senior engineer at the Plesetsk launch pad in northwestern Russia, a facility the military uses to launch satellites and test missiles.

The security service’s terse statement did not say when Nesterets had been arrested or give any further details about his case.

The conviction comes amid growing tension in US-Russian relations, despite President Barack Obama’s efforts to “reset” them from strains that had developed during the previous US administration.—AP