The Soviet news agency Tass, however, said U.S. allegations of Soviet espionage were a "cock-and-bull story" and that the Pentagon came up with the "spy scare" in an effort to undercut the State Department.

The U.S. official said Shultz also pressed Shevardnadze on human rights and "humanitarian concerns" during their morning meeting.

"It was a full and extensive exchange, including specific cases as well as principles," he said.

Shultz and Shevardnadze also met for more than three hours Monday afternoon with the two nations' top arms control advisers. They continued those talks in a third session late at night to work through what officials called an extensive agenda. The long day of talks ended with a half-hour private session between the two foreign ministers.

"The meetings were serious and businesslike," said Charles E. Redman, the State Department spokesman. "There is a lot of work on the agenda, and the two sides worked energetically to make their way through that agenda."

Tass said Shultz and Shevardnadze were "considering in a concrete way" the prospects for an agreement to remove medium-range nuclear missiles from Europe.

U.S. officials say a Euromissile pact would be the most promising result of the Geneva-based superpower arms control talks. But they have cautioned against expecting a breakthrough toward a treaty during the current visit.