Soviets Claim U.S. Bugged Wash., N.Y., S.F. Missions : Devices Displayed to Press

The Soviet Union, countering U.S. charges of a massive Soviet espionage campaign against the American Embassy in Moscow, today displayed listening devices that it said were hidden in Soviet diplomatic missions in Washington, New York and San Francisco.

Although most of the devices displayed at a news conference were apparently found years ago, Foreign Ministry representatives said eavesdropping equipment disguised as insulation strips around windows of the Soviet Embassy’s administration building in Washington were “discovered just the other day.”

The devices, some crammed with miniature electronics and no bigger than a pencil, are “material evidence of who is really intruding into the sovereign territory of others,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Pyadyshev said.

Response to U.S. Anger

The display came in response to the growing anger in Washington over the U.S. Embassy sex and spy scandal.

Although American officials would not comment on the Soviet countercharges, a senior official in Washington said the situations were not comparable because the Soviets had “burglarized” the U.S. Embassy.

According to U.S. charges, Soviet female agents seduced Marines to gain access to secret areas of the embassy in Moscow. U.S. officials also charge that a new embassy under construction is completely bugged and might have to be destroyed.

Secretary of State George P. Shultz, due in Moscow Monday for three days of talks, was told by President Reagan to make the subject of Soviet spying on the American Embassy a major issue.

Communications Trailer

U.S. officials say embassy security is so compromised that sensitive discussions during the Shultz visit may be held in a trailer on the mission’s grounds. Embassy officials currently are conducting sensitive discussions with handwritten messages.

The Soviet Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said: “What is particularly revolting is the tactics of false charges against the Soviet side in an obvious attempt to divert attention from one’s own lawlessness and flagrant violations of standards of international law and morality.”

The Soviet representatives sitting on a stage with the alleged American spy equipment behind them sidestepped questions about their operations against foreign embassies in Moscow.

Quality Not Compared

However, in answer to a question about how the quality of the American equipment compared to Soviet spying devices, Foreign Ministry security spokesman Ivan Miroshkin said, “I believe the experts will decide that.”

The Soviet display of spying paraphernalia came one day after the Soviets charged that the United States was inventing the embassy spy scandal to prevent progress during Shultz’s visit for talks expected to focus on arms control.

The Foreign Ministry displayed five panels with examples of listening devices and pictures of the Soviet buildings where it said they were found--the Soviet Embassy administration building, the residence for its Washington diplomats, the consulate in San Francisco, the U.N. offices and a country retreat for diplomats outside Washington.