File Photo: A National Security Agency (NSA) data gathering facility is seen in Bluffdale, about 25 miles (40 km) south of Salt Lake City, Utah on May 18, 2015. (Reuters)
Berlin:
Chancellor Angela Merkel's office asked the US ambassador to come on Thursday to discuss new allegations of NSA spying, which threatened to drive a new wedge through transatlantic ties.
"We confirm that US ambassador (John) Emerson was invited to the chancellery to talk," a German government source told AFP, after the Frankfurter Allgemeine daily said Merkel's chief of staff Peter Altmaier had asked for the meeting.
It was unclear whether the discussion had already taken place, and the US embassy had no immediate comment.
German media had reported Wednesday that new documents released by Wiki Leaks appear to show the United States did not just tap Merkel's mobile phone but also eavesdropped on several ministers.
German-US relations were badly strained after fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snow den in 2013 revealed widespread US foreign surveillance, although a probe into the alleged tapping of Merkel's mobile phone was dropped last month over a lack of proof.
The federal prosecutor's office said Thursday it was considering reopening an investigation into US National Security Agency (NSA) activities in Germany in light of the new evidence.
According to the latest Wikileaks documents, the NSA did not limit its snooping activities to Merkel, and showed particular interest in the activities of the ministries of finance, economy and agriculture, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung wrote.
It said whistle blowing website WikiLeaks had shown it a list of 69 phone numbers that were reportedly targeted, belonging to ministers and senior officials. The list appears to date back to between 2010 and 2012.
Current Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel was among those spied on by the NSA, the report said, although it noted that he was in the opposition at the time.
The list also features the number of former finance minister Oskar Lafontaine, who left the job in 1999. But the number is "still active", according to the Sueddeutsche report, and now rings through to the office of current Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.
While Snowden alleged US spying on many European governments, his disclosures triggered particular anger in Germany where bitterness lingers over mass state spying on citizens by the Stasi secret police in former communist East Germany where Merkel grew up.
Merkel herself phoned US President Barack Obama over the 2013 revelations and in public told Germany's traditional post-war ally and NATO partner that "spying between friends just isn't on".
Washington appeared to confirm that her phone had been tapped when US officials said the cellphone would not be a target in the future.
"We confirm that US ambassador (John) Emerson was invited to the chancellery to talk," a German government source told AFP, after the Frankfurter Allgemeine daily said Merkel's chief of staff Peter Altmaier had asked for the meeting.
It was unclear whether the discussion had already taken place, and the US embassy had no immediate comment.
German media had reported Wednesday that new documents released by Wiki Leaks appear to show the United States did not just tap Merkel's mobile phone but also eavesdropped on several ministers.
German-US relations were badly strained after fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snow den in 2013 revealed widespread US foreign surveillance, although a probe into the alleged tapping of Merkel's mobile phone was dropped last month over a lack of proof.
The federal prosecutor's office said Thursday it was considering reopening an investigation into US National Security Agency (NSA) activities in Germany in light of the new evidence.
According to the latest Wikileaks documents, the NSA did not limit its snooping activities to Merkel, and showed particular interest in the activities of the ministries of finance, economy and agriculture, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung wrote.
It said whistle blowing website WikiLeaks had shown it a list of 69 phone numbers that were reportedly targeted, belonging to ministers and senior officials. The list appears to date back to between 2010 and 2012.
Current Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel was among those spied on by the NSA, the report said, although it noted that he was in the opposition at the time.
The list also features the number of former finance minister Oskar Lafontaine, who left the job in 1999. But the number is "still active", according to the Sueddeutsche report, and now rings through to the office of current Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.
While Snowden alleged US spying on many European governments, his disclosures triggered particular anger in Germany where bitterness lingers over mass state spying on citizens by the Stasi secret police in former communist East Germany where Merkel grew up.
Merkel herself phoned US President Barack Obama over the 2013 revelations and in public told Germany's traditional post-war ally and NATO partner that "spying between friends just isn't on".
Washington appeared to confirm that her phone had been tapped when US officials said the cellphone would not be a target in the future.
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