CIA calls on Russians to spy for US in video posted on YouTube

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released a video calling on Russian military and intelligence officers, diplomats and scientists to spy for Washington.

The video, published on the CIA's official YouTube channel on Monday and featuring a male voiceover, subtitles and a description in Russian, shows a man and a woman who choose to start working for the CIA.

"The CIA wants to know the truth about Russia, and we are looking for reliable people who know and can tell us this truth. Your information may be more valuable than you think," the voice says.

The text accompanying the video says that Russians can contact the CIA "securely" via the Tor browser. It provides a link for instructions on how to use Tor, a system for anonymous online communication.

"Are you a military officer? Do you work in the field of intelligence, diplomacy, science, high technology, or do you deal with people who do this? Do you have information about the economy or the top leadership of the Russian Federation? Contact us," it says.

Commenting on the video at a press briefing in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday he personally had not paid attention to it.

"I do not have information. I do not know. But I am convinced that our special services are properly monitoring this space (on the internet) too," he said.

"We all know perfectly well that the CIA and other Western intelligence services are not reducing their activity on the territory of our country."