Germany examines further WikiLeaks claims of NSA spying

BERLIN

 Germany is examining a WikiLeaks report that the U.S. eavesdropped on Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s telephone conversations, the ministry said Tuesday.

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

“The authenticity and source of the information released by WikiLeaks cannot be readily verified,” a ministry spokesman told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.

“If these allegations turn out to be true, that would be unacceptable. For us, spying between friends is unacceptable. Without doubt we would demand from the U.S. administration an explanation for these serious allegations.”

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. WikiLeaks also revealed a purported NSA report on intercepted conversations between Steinmeier and an aide following his return from an official visit to Washington D.C. in late 2005.

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.

Last year, Attorney General Harald Range opened an investigation into the claims but it was shelved last month due to a lack of evidence.

NSA’s alleged surveillance has strained ties between Washington and Berlin but Merkel has refrained from steps that could undermine Germany’s close cooperation with the U.S. on security and foreign policy.

Germany has repeatedly raised its uneasiness over NSA’s activities but has failed to convince the U.S. to sign a no-spy agreement.

The German BND foreign intelligence agency has long worked alongside the NSA to monitor global communications from the Bad Aibling station in Bavaria.