"This is not how close friends should be treated": German MP on U.S. spying on EU politicians

Member of the Berlin Parliament Gunnar Lindemann believes that Germany should reconsider its relations with the United States due to wiretapping of German deputies.

"In the past, there has been plenty of evidence to show that the United States has tapped German politicians' mobile phones. This is not how close friends should be treated. We Germans must be clear about this with the United States. We cannot put up with the fact that politicians of friendly states are exploited. Perhaps, we should be more sceptical about the United States in the future, especially since the United States has intervened several times in the interests of Germany recently, for example, (by imposing sanctions against - ed.) Nord Stream 2" he told Vestnik Kavkaza.

On Sunday, the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, the ARD and WDR TV companies, as well as a number of media outlets in Denmark and Sweden reported that in 2013, Danish intelligence collaborated with the US National Security Agency (NSA) in spying on European politicians. According to media reports, the espionage agencies in question used a facility located near Copenhagen for wiretapping activities. The NSA scandal broke in 2013, when Der Spiegel published revelations by former CIA employee Edward Snowden. Since then, more and more details about the story have surfaced. As it turned out, US intelligence had been spying on thousands of targets in Europe, eavesdropping on German citizens and even tapping into German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone several times.

Commenting on the report of the German newspaper, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the recent reports claiming that Danish intelligence services collaborated with the US in spying on European politicians are just "the tip of the iceberg" and the situation is even more dire for NATO member states themselves.