Steinmeier urges swift clarity on fresh NSA allegations
July 3, 2015
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with his Czech opposite number, Lubomir Zaoralek, in Berlin on Friday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on the United States to provide the "quickest clarification possible" of the allegations, which have been widely reported in the German media.
"It is my wish that the American side will be helpful in the [process of] clarification," Steinmeier said.
Steinmeier's statement came in light of the latest revelations about the alleged activities of the US National Security Agency (NSA) in Germany, contained in documents released by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks and published by the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" national daily and two Geman public broadcasters.
According to the reports, not only did the NSA tap into Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellular phone, but it also managed to listen in on a number of her cabinet ministers. They said that Wikileaks had shown them a list of 69 phone numbers that were allegedly targeted, including that of the current economy minister and deputy chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel. Among those that the NSA appeared to regard as particularly valuable targets were telephone numbers within the finance and agriculture ministries.
This came two years after allegations emerged that the NSA had tapped into the chancellor's cell, something that caused a chill in bilateral relations between Berlin and Washington.
US ambassador summoned
On Thursday, Merkel's chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, summoned the US ambassador to Germany to his office to discuss the latest revelations.
Later, the chancellor's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said that Altmaier had stressed to the ambassador that German law must be respected - even by US officials.
"Such repeated events strain German and American intelligence cooperation which is essential for the safety of our citizens," Seibert said in a statement.
In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that the meeting had taken place, but provided no further details, apart from claiming that the latest affair had done nothing to harm bilateral ties.
"What I can tell you is that nothing's changed about the strong relationship that we have and will continue to have with Germany," Kirby said.
pfd/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters, AP)