Germany confronts US envoy over spy scandal

Germany confronts US envoy over spy scandal

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 11:59 PM IST
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(FILES) A photo taken on March 11, 2015 shows US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and German Foreign Minister Frank -Walter Steinmeier arriving to speak to the press at the State Department in Washington, DC during Steinmeier's visit to USA. Germany said on July 22, 2015 it was "demanding answers" from the United States over fresh allegations of official US espionage, with German media reports based on Wikileaks documents indicating that the National Security Agency (NSA) "systematically" spied on Steinmeier, a ministry spokesman said. AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM |

Berlin presses Washington to clear up latest espionage claims

Berlin : Germany’s Foreign Ministry says a senior official has called the US ambassador to press for Washington to clear up allegations that the country’s foreign minister was a target of eavesdropping.

 Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said that Stephan Steinlein, a deputy foreign minister, spoke with Ambassador John B Emerson the day after WikiLeaks published a document it claimed was a summary of a 2005 conversation Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had following a trip to the US.

Schaefer said that Steinlein pushed for Germany to be given “the necessary clarification and explanation of this and all other cases that are still open.”

Three weeks ago, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff met with Emerson after a previous WikiLeaks report on alleged spying.

The whistleblowing website released documents Monday that it claimed demonstrated the U.S.’s National Security Agency targeted Steinmeier, his predecessor Joschka Fischer and senior diplomatic officials.

The documents reportedly include a list of 20 German mobile and landline numbers belonging to senior Foreign Ministry figures that were monitored by the NSA. Earlier this month, WikiLeaks claimed it had proof that the U.S. had spied on Germany’s political leaders and senior officials since the 1990s, including Chancellor Angela Merkel.

CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations in 2013 showed for the first time that Merkel’s private mobile phone had been on a NSA monitoring list.

German-US relations were badly strained after fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed widespread US foreign surveillance, although a probe into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone was dropped due to lack of proof. Earlier this month Merkel’s chief of staff called Emerson to the chancellery over reports the United States did not just listen in on Merkel’s mobile phone but also eavesdropped on several ministers.

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