WASHINGTON, March 31. /TASS/. US secret services have stepped up sharply the efforts to recruit Russian diplomats in recent days and have been approaching especially often the diplomats who are compelled to leave the US, the Russia Ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov told a group of Russian reporters on Friday.

"In recent days, we’ve seen a sharp increase of the US secret services’ attempts to approach our fellow diplomats who are leaving," he said. "We know about the approaches by their representatives who are trying to establish - let’s put it mildly - informal relations with our diplomats and, in essence, to entice them to betraying their homeland.".