Germany Demands Explanation: US May Have Monitored Merkel’s Phone

Local Editor

The German government has obtained information that the United States may have monitored the mobile phone of Chancellor Angela Merkel and she called President Barack Obama on Wednesday to demand an immediate clarification, her spokesman said.

Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement issued on Wednesday that the German leader "made clear that she unequivocally disapproves of such practices, should they be confirmed, and regards them as completely unacceptable".
Merkel had demanded "an immediate and comprehensive explanation" from the Obama administration, the statement said.
Seibert quoted the German leader as telling the US president "Between close friends and partners, which the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America have been for decades, there should be no such surveillance of the communications of a head of government."

"That would be a grave breach of trust. Such practices must cease immediately."
A German official, requesting anonymity, said the government had been alerted to the latest spying activities by Der Spiegel, a weekly magazine which had obtained a US document with Merkel's telephone number on it. Germany then confronted US officials with the document.

Later in the day, the White House issued a statement confirming that Obama and Merkel had spoken on Wednesday "regarding allegations that the US National Security Agency intercepted the communications of the German chancellor. The president assured the chancellor that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of Chancellor Merkel."

Germany, France and several other countries have expressed concerns about US spying after American surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed classified information about US surveillance programs.

Source: News Agencies