Story highlights John Kerry discussed the matter with Vladimir Putin this spring

Russian officials have charged that Americans have also engaged in problematic behavior

Washington (CNN) Washington has delivered high-level complaints to Moscow about accusations of increasing intimidation of American diplomats in Russia, the State Department said on Monday.

Secretary of State John Kerry last discussed the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 24, according to State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau.

"We see an increase and we take it seriously," she told reporters at a press briefing.

Trudeau said that harassment of diplomats by Russian security agents and traffic police had been an issue over the past two years but did not detail any incidents nor why Kerry brought up the matter with Putin.

Other Western embassies had reported the same behavior toward their diplomats stationed in Moscow, Trudeau added.

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