Obama, Merkel still at odds over surveillance

Reuters/AFP/DPA

Washington

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that difficulties remain over surveillance even as US President Barack Obama pledged to have “cyber-dialogue” on the issue to address gaps between the two countries over data monitoring and intelligence gathering.

“We have a few difficulties yet to overcome,” Merkel said in a joint news conference with Obama at the White House.

Obama also said the United States does not have a blanket “no spy” agreement with any country and that it is not accurate to say the United States offered and withdrew a “no spy” agreement with Germany.

Obama also said that the US and Germany “are not perfectly aligned yet, but we share the same values and the same concerns”.

He adds that it has “pained” him to see the way that disclosures by whistleblower Edward Snowden have hurt his relationship with Merkel.

Obama earlier welcomed Merkel to the White House, seeking to secure united European backing for tougher sanctions on Russia’s economy should the Kremlin escalate the crisis in Ukraine.

The president and the Chancellor met days after both the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on key political and business figures around President Vladimir Putin.

The measures followed the failure of a deal brokered in Geneva to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine and the refusal of Russia to rein in pro-Moscow separatist groups in southeastern Ukraine.

So far, the sanctions adopted by either side have been limited to personal visa and asset bans against prominent people in Putin’s inner circle, branded “cronies” by the White House.

But Washington warns that it will impose tougher sanctions that will hit directly at key sectors of the Russian economy, if Putin for instance marches troops currently massed on the border of Ukraine directly into the country.

Such a scenario would entail a tough political choice for European leaders like Merkel, who are under intense pressure from powerful business interests dismayed at the potential loss of important markets and investments in Russia.

On Thursday, White House spokesman Jay Carney denied that Washington and the EU had butted heads over possible new sanctions.

“There has been a great deal of collaboration and cooperation in that effort between the United States and the EU, as well as all the members of the G7, so we expect that effort to continue,” he said. “We expect to continue a path that sees an international coalition escalating the costs that Russia will have to endure and pay if Russia refuses to keep its commitments.”

Carney added that the United States and EU members each have “a different kind of economic relationship with Russia, and so sanctions will affect different nations differently”.

Merkel and Obama held their press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, the site of a sumptuous state dinner hosted by the US leader for his guest three years ago.

Since then, relations between Berlin and Washington have been hit by the continuing damaging fallout over revelations of National Security Agency (NSA) spying in Germany, including the tapping of Merkel’s mobile phone, which the US says has now been stopped.

Obama has sought to mend fences with Merkel after the revelations by fugitive intelligence contractor Snowden.

Obama said in an interview broadcast in Germany in January that Merkel had no need to worry about the United States spying on her in future.

However, after Obama extended the invitation for a visit, Merkel noted that it would take “more than one trip” to repair the damage.

During her trip to Washington, Merkel will also address the US Chamber of Commerce, and meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde, and US senators.