MOSCOW • Russian television has broadcast video footage of what it said was a Russian police officer and a US diplomat wrestling on the steps of the US Embassy in Moscow.

The night-time footage, from what appeared to be a closed-circuit TV camera from across the street, showed a taxi pulling up and a man jumping out. As he moved towards the entrance, the door of a police sentry box in front swung open. A man in police uniform darted out and grabbed the man, and the two wrestled on the floor, according to the footage broadcast by NTV on Thursday.

The Washington Post newspaper, citing US diplomats, said an embassy employee had been attacked on June 6 by the officer.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on June 7 to raise concern about "an incident involving an accredited US diplomat that occurred outside our embassy in Moscow".

A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said the officer had wanted to check the man's documents to establish he was not a threat to embassy security, but was elbowed in the face when he tried to challenge him. She said the embassy employee was a CIA agent operating under diplomatic cover.

REUTERS