Obama Looks to Limit Damage Over EU Bugging

At Guardian UK, "Barack Obama seeks to limit EU fallout over US spying claims."

President says NSA will assess espionage allegations as France and Germany demand answers and warn of delay to trade talks.

Barack Obama has sought to limit the damage from the growing transatlantic espionage row after Germany and France denounced the major snooping activities of US agencies and warned of a possible delay in the launch next week of ambitious free-trade talks between Europe and the US.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French president, François Hollande, demanded quick explanations from Washington about disclosures by the Guardian and Der Spiegel that US agencies bugged European embassies and offices. Berlin stressed there had to be mutual trust if trade talks were to go ahead in Washington on Monday.

Hollande went further, indicating the talks could be called off unless the alleged spying was stopped immediately and US guarantees were provided.

The diplomatic row came as Edward Snowden – the fugitive National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower, who faces espionage charges in the US and is holed up in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport – applied for asylum in Russia. Snowdenhe used his first public statement to attack the US for revoking his passport and accused it of bullying countries that might grant him asylum.

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, said on Monday: "If he wants to go somewhere and someone will take him, go ahead. If he wants to stay here, there is one condition – he must stop his work aimed at bringing harm to our American partners, as strange as that sounds coming from my mouth. "Russia never gives anyone up and doesn't plan to give anyone up. And no one has ever given us anyone."

Continue reading.