US declines comment on Germany's expulsion of intelligence chief
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E-mail Xinhua, July 11, 2014
The Obama administration declined on Thursday to discuss its possible response to Germany's expulsion of the representative of U.S. intelligence agencies in Berlin in a growing spy row.
State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki, as she did before, still sounded a note of caution even as Berlin on Thursday asked the U.S. intelligence chief at the American embassy to leave following the revelations of two spying cases within days.
Asked about whether Washington was expelling anyone from the German embassy in retaliation, Psaki replied "I don't have anything more to add on this particular topic."
She refused to make any "specific" comment on the alleged U.S. espionage involving two German nationals working separately with Germany's foreign intelligence service known as BND and its Defense Ministry.
The latest revelations have sparked outrage in Germany, as the country is still reeling from the U.S. National Security Agency's spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone, a move denounced by the chancellor as a "breach of trust."
Psaki said she expected Secretary of State John Kerry to call his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier "in the coming days. "
She said U.S.-German relationship is "extremely important" with bilateral cooperation on "many areas."
"We have areas certainly where we may disagree," she added. " But the sign of a strong relationship is being able to work through those disagreements or challenges and we'll continue to do that through proper channels."
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