German lawmaker: Snowden ready to testify about U.S. spying on Merkel

PanARMENIAN.Net - Fugitive U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is ready to testify about the United States spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a German lawmaker said Thursday, October 31 after a meeting in Moscow with the former U.S. National Security Agency employee, according to RIA Novosti.

Hans-Christian Ströbele, a representative of the German Green party in the Bundestag, told broadcaster ARD that Snowden expressed readiness to help an investigation in the espionage allegation.

Ströbele said he and Snowden had discussed the issue in detail, and Snowden clearly conveyed that “he knew a lot.”

A recent report in Germany’s Der Spiegel claimed that the NSA had tapped Merkel’s mobile phone for more than 10 years.

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office last week announced that it might summon Snowden as a witness.

According to leaked U.S. government files cited by the Der Spiegel report, a listening station based in the U.S. Embassy in Berlin was responsible for monitoring Merkel’s communications.

Der Spiegel said Merkel called U.S. President Barack Obama to seek clarification as soon as she heard about the allegation.

According to the report, the U.S. leader apologized to Merkel but said he did not know about the spying.