WASHINGTON: The United States yesterday declined to comment on claims that its spies are conducting sweeping surveillance of hundreds of prominent Germans, though it did not deny the reports.
The claims by a newspaper, following a transatlantic row over revelations that Washington’s National Security Agency intercepted Chancellor Angela Merkel’s communications, marked another test for wobbling US-German relations.
The National Security Council did not confirm or deny the reports in the Bild am Sonntag that Washington was eavesdropping on hundreds of key Germany figures. including a cabinet minister. Spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden noted that US spy agencies would continue to “gather information about the intentions of governments — as opposed to ordinary citizens — around the world, in the same way that the intelligence services of every other nation do.”
AFP
