OBAMA PHONES HOLLANDE CONFIRMED ITS SPYING TO FRENCH CITIZENS
Washington, 18 Dhul Hijja 1434/22 October 2013 (MINA) – US President Barack Obama spoke by phone with his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, Monday to discuss recent media reports regarding US intelligence efforts to French citizens.
“The President and President Hollande discussed recent disclosures in the press,” said a readout of the call provided by the White House, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
“Some of which have distorted our activities and some of which raise legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed.”
Hollande condemned US spying on French citizens in a call with President Barack Obama, as a row escalated over US eavesdropping on millions of French phone calls.
Hollande’s office said in a statement that he had expressed “deep disapproval of these practices, which are unacceptable between friends and allies because they infringe on the privacy of French citizens.”
Hollande “asked that all explanations be provided, as well as all information that could be at the disposal of former NSA consultant Edward Snowden”, Al Jazeera reports.
The French daily, Le Monde, reported Monday that the National Security Agency (NSA) collected over 70 million French phone calls over a 30-day period based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
“The President made clear that the United States has begun to review the way that we gather intelligence,” White House added.
The statement said the two leaders had agreed “to work together to determine the facts and the exact scope of surveillance activities” revealed by French newspaper Le Monde.
The two stressed that surveillance operations should be put into a “bilateral framework” and agreed that US and French intelligence agencies would “work together to this effect”, the statement said.
The spying claims threatened to overshadow a visit to Paris by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, who is due to discuss the war in Syria with western allies and members of the opposition. (T/P09/P04).
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
