Washington filed a complaint and accused Moscow of intimidation of us diplomats in Russia, said the State Department on Monday.

Secretary of state John Kerry discussed the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 March, the press Secretary Elizabeth Trudeau. "We see the strengthening of intimidation, and we take it seriously," she told reporters at a press conference.

Trudeau said that the persecution of Russian diplomats, security agents and traffic police was a problem in the last two years, but major incidents in this regard are not seen.

Other Western embassies have reported the same behavior in relation to its diplomats stationed in Moscow, said Trudeau. Trudeau would not discuss specific cases, reported The Washington Post on Monday, including a breach in the homes of Embassy staff and move around the city.

Last week the official representative of Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that Moscow "felt a significant increase in pressure on the Russian Embassy and the Consulate General of our country in the United States."

According to Zakharova, the staff of consular offices of Russia abroad "regularly become objects of provocation by American special services, face obstacles in making formal contacts with other restrictions.

Trudeau rejected Russia's claims of harassment of U.S. diplomats as "without Foundation" and said that American diplomats face the same restrictions as Russian diplomats in accordance with the terms of mutual agreement.
sections: Politics, Accidents