Berlin Reiterates ˈNoˈ To Granting Asylum To Snowden

Berlin, Nov 5, IRNA -- The German government here Monday reaffirmed its opposition to granting asylum to Edward Snowden amid mounting calls by German politicians to provide safe haven to the NSA whistleblower. Talking to the press, the German government Spokesman Steffen Seibert emphasized again that Snowden who has temporary asylum in Russia, was not qualified to get asylum in Germany. He said that the countryˈs laws stipulate that those applying for asylum must be on the territory or at the border of the state with which they intend to submit an application, according to IRNA. Seibert warned also that providing asylum to Snowden would seriously jeopardize US-German relations which have been severely strained by media revelations of the NSA wiretapping of Chancellor Angela Merkelˈs cell phone. The Merkel spokesperson highlighted the great importance of US-German political and security relations. Berlin has tried over the past days to de-escalate tensions in the US espionage affair by aiming for a no-spy deal with Washington./end