MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) – The alleged US spy operation in Germany that sparked a scandal last week was conducted with the participation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Reuters reported Tuesday citing anonymous sources in the American government.
According to the news agency, the sources refused to unveil the details of the CIA’s involvement into the spy scandal. CIA representatives did not comment on the accusations.
Earlier, a 31-year-old employee of the German intelligence service, the BND, was arrested and confessed to having leaked information about the government’s special committee investigation into American intelligence activities in Germany to the NSA. The employee allegedly sold at least 300 top-secret documents from the BND's computer system to the United States. On Friday, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office summoned the US ambassador to Berlin to swiftly clarify the case. Berlin has said any attempts to hide evidence in this scandal would be unacceptable and urged Washington to assist in the investigation.
The White House responded by saying that US authorities value cooperation with Germany on safety issues and hope to soon resolve the spy issue, which has stirred disappointment from Chancellor Angela Merkel. White House Spokesperson Josh Earnest said during a recent press conference that this incident does not correspond to the high level of cooperation between the two partner countries.