MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Tuesday, the WikiLeaks website published documents leaked by former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, pertaining to the agency’s interception of communications of Hollande and former French presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac.
"We are not targeting President Hollande," Kerry told reporters on Wednesday, adding that the United States does not conduct foreign intelligence unless there is a "validated national security purpose."
Assange stressed that US surveillance is a threat to the sovereignty of Europe and urged France to take the lead and take legal action over US spying.
US intelligence gathering practices were at the center of a major scandal in 2013, when Snowden revealed that the NSA was snooping on world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Over the past years, documents published by Snowden have revealed US surveillance practices on many world leaders, as well as on millions of American citizens — without a court warrant.
