BERLIN, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday stressed the importance of the German-U.S. alliance, adding that an ongoing debate on whether to grant Edward Snowden asylum must not hamper bilateral ties.
"The chancellor believes she has an obligation to protect the data and privacy of German citizens from illegal monitoring and she is working to reestablish trust with the United States and put in place clear rules for future cooperation," Merkel's spokesperson Steffen Seibert said.
The comments come as increasingly louder voices from German opposition call for granting asylum to Snowden so that the former U.S. spy agency contractor could travel to Germany to testify.
Opposition politicians including Left party chairman Bernd Riexinger and former leading candidate for the Green party Juergen Trittin have demanded that the government grant Snowden asylum in return for his testimony on U.S. spying that included alleged monitoring of Merkel's mobile phone.
German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich also said last week that the government was willing to talk with Snowden on the U.S. spying if he was willing to help shed light on the spying scandal.
American allies in Europe have been in an uproar over media reports that U.S. intelligence agencies have monitored tens of millions of phone calls on the continent.
Snowden provided classified documents with evidence of the alleged spying scandal. He has been granted temporary asylum in Russia after exposing massive surveillance by the U.S. intelligence service.
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German politicians demand asylum for Snowden
BERLIN, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Prominent opposition politicians are demanding asylum for Edward Snowden in Germany so that he can help with a probe into alleged U.S. spying in the country.
U.S. intelligence whistleblower Snowden should be granted asylum in return for his testimony, said Bernd Riexinger, head of the Left Party, on Monday. Full story
Wiretapping issue disrupts Indonesia's trust in U.S., Australia: foreign minister
JAKARTA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Monday that the ongoing wiretapping issue has disrupted the country's level of trust in the United States and Australia, adding that initiatives to fix the relations should be initiated by those two countries.
"In the meantime we would review official cooperation on information sharing with those two countries. We would not accept the persistence of such activities anymore in the future. We would improve our alertness so as to minimize such an incident from occurring again," Marty told a press conference in his office here. Full story
Spying on Malaysia to hurt relations with countries involved, Defense Minister
Kuala Lumpur, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Spying activities on Malaysia by its allies is a serious matter, as it can strain the relations between Malaysia and these countries, which have been long established based on trust and sincerity, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said here Sunday.
"I believe if this (spying) is not fully explained, our long- established good relations can be adversely affected. Therefore, we need a full explanation on the extent of the spying activities and for what purpose," the minister told reporters here. Full story
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