US President Barack Obama has given German Chancellor Angela Merkel his word that American surveillance activities will not get in the way of their relationship.<br /><br />Relations between the two leaders have been strained by media reports – citing leaked intelligence documents – that Washington had been spying on European citizens and had bugged Merkel’s mobile phone. <br /><br />“I don’t need and I don’t want to harm that relationship by a surveillance mechanism that somehow would impede the kind of communication and trust that we have,” Obama said in an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF<br /><br />“As long as I’m president of the United States, the Chancellor of Germany will not have to worry about this,” the US President continued.<br /><br />Obama said he and Merkel “may not always be of the same opinion on issues of foreign policy, but that is no reason to wiretap”.<br /><br />The message to Merkel came a day after Obama gave a speech announcing a ban on US eavesdropping on the leaders of close allies.<br /><br />It is among a series of reforms to the US National Security Agency (NSA) following leaks by former security contractor Edward Snowden which allege mass US surveillance of citizens at home and abroad.
