 Turkey summons German envoy over spying report, official says August 18, 2014 - 15:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey summoned the German ambassador in Ankara on Monday over a report in magazine Der Spiegel that Germany's BND intelligence agency had been spying on its NATO ally for years, a Turkish foreign ministry official said, according to Reuters. The German magazine reported at the weekend that Berlin had identified Ankara as a top surveillance target in an internal government document from 2009. Turkey's acting foreign ministry undersecretary Erdogan Iscan met German Ambassador Eberhard Pohl to voice Turkey's concerns about the report, the official said, without giving further details. A German government spokeswoman, asked by reporters whether Turkey was a friendly nation which should not therefore be the target of spying, replied: "Germany cooperates closely with Turkey in many different areas." A German foreign ministry spokesman confirmed that the ambassador was invited to discuss the issue by the Turkish government, but disputed that he had been "summoned". Germany is Turkey's largest trading partner in the EU and is also home to some three million Turks, the largest diaspora in Europe. Related links: Related issues:   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims  Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide.Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed.Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham).Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |
