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The US ambassador to Russia met foreign ministry officials in Moscow to discuss the case of a US diplomat accused of trying to recruit a Russian agent.

Michael McFaul was summoned after Russia said on Tuesday it had detained Ryan Fogle for "provocative actions".

Mr Fogle was declared "persona non grata" and told to leave the country.

The incident did not contribute to "strengthening mutual trust between Russia and the US", a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said.

However, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he did not bring the matter up with US Secretary of State John Kerry, when they met at a conference in Sweden on Tuesday.

"I decided that talking about it would be superfluous, since it is already made public and everyone already understands everything," he said in comments published on the foreign ministry's website.

Mr McFaul spent about 30 minutes at the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday but made no comment after his meeting.

Mr Fogle is said to be a CIA agent who worked as third political secretary at the US embassy in Moscow.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it detained the US diplomat on Monday evening and held him overnight before handing him over to US authorities.

The US State Department confirmed the arrest.

At the time of his detention, Mr Fogle was wearing a blond wig and reportedly carrying a large sum of money, as well as technical devices and written instructions for the Russian agent he had tried to recruit.

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Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three states after a series of deadly attacks by Islamist militant groups.

The military will take "all necessary action" to "put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists" in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, he said.

Mr Jonathan also ordered more troops to be sent to the north-eastern states.

Militants from Boko Haram have been blamed for most of the violence, which has left 2,000 people dead since 2010.

The Islamist group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state in the north.

President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency across an already heavily militarised area of northern Nigeria.

This is not the first time he has taken such action following an upsurge in attacks by Islamist militants. The question is whether more troops on the ground will make any difference. Many analysts say the military has been losing the battle for hearts and minds and abuse allegations have helped boost Boko Haram.

Attacks have largely been hit-and-run or even suicide missions, but by saying areas have been "taken over by groups whose allegiance was to different flags and ideologies", the president has made the somewhat embarrassing admission that the state no longer controls the entire territory of Nigeria.

Mr Jonathan also urged politicians in the affected states to co-operate with the armed forces and the police. This raises the question of what they have been doing. After all, some northern politicians have been accused of backing Boko Haram.

Nigeria - a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people - is also affected by a spate of conflicts over land, religion and oil.

In the latest violence, 53 people were killed and 13 villages burnt in central Nigeria's Benue state on Tuesday.

The conflict, which started last week, is said to have been caused by a dispute over land ownership between cattle herders and farmers.

In a pre-recorded address broadcast on Tuesday, President Jonathan said: "What we are facing is not just militancy or criminality, but a rebellion and insurgency by terrorist groups which pose a very serious threat to national unity and territorial integrity."

Referring to recent attacks on government buildings and killings of officials and other civilians, he said that "these actions amount to a declaration of war".

"We will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice," the president said.

"The chief of defence staff has been directed to immediately deploy more troops to these states for more effective internal security operations.

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