Russian sanctions, NSA spying top the agenda at Merkel’s White House visit

May 2nd, 2014

David Schulberg

U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Reuters / Grigory Dukor)

Germany’s Chancellor Merkel is in the White House for the first time since it was revealed the NSA monitored her personal communications. During bilateral talks with Barack Obama, Merkel is expected to broach sanctions on Russia and US spying.

Relations between Washington and Berlin are showing signs of
tensions, as German companies call for a halt to sanctions on
Russia. Furthermore, Germany is still reeling from the NSA spy
revelations that affected millions of German citizens, as well as
high-ranking businessmen and politicians.

Merkel reiterated earlier this week that Germany would support
any further financial sanctions against Russia. However, growing
calls from the German business sector may force her to change her
policy in Friday’s meeting.

“The Germans are very clear they are not going to pursue
factions that hurt German industry. That would be the straw that
broke the camel’s back,” said Michael Hudson professor of
Economics at the University of Missouri to RT.

Indeed, some major corporate figures have already spoken out
against a potential escalation of the sanctions, maintaining they
will do more harm than good to the German economy.

“If there’s a single message we have as business leaders,
then it’s this: sit down at the negotiating table and resolve
these matters peacefully,” Eckhard Cordes told a recent
conference in Berlin. Cordes is a former Daimler AG executive who
now heads the Ostauschuss, German industry’s branch for Eastern
Europe, reported the Wall Street Journal.

So far the US, EU, Canada and Japan have imposed sanction on
Russia for its alleged role in the unrest in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow has denied claims it is involved in the unrest and has
pointed the finger at Washington for orchestrating the situation
in Ukraine as part of its geopolitical strategy in the region.

NSA spying

The espionage antics of the US National Security Agency remain a
bone of contention between Berlin and Washington. It emerged
earlier in April that Merkel had been denied access to her NSA
file, following reports the agency had monitored her personal
communications. The revelations had a profound effect on German
society, prompting calls for Washington to account for its
actions.

“First the US denied spying on Merkel’s cell phone, then
admitted it, now it just continues, because Obama says ‘we
reserve the right to collect information.’ I just see Angela
Merkel going to the US to pick up new instructions,” Ken
Jebson, Redaktion radio host told RT’s Peter Oliver.

While WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafsson, said the German
government’s lack of resolve over the NSA spy scandal is
indicative of European cowardice in the face of US dominance.

“I think the proof of the cowardice of governments and
politicians and their unwillingness to tackle this in a
meaningful way, despite what they say publicly, was when European
countries closed their airspace and forced the presidential plane
of Evo Morales to land in Austria, on a hunch that Edward Snowden
was on board,” he told RT.

Earlier this year Washington pledged that it would no longer spy
on world leaders, but stated it would still gather information on
the intentions of foreign powers through its espionage programs.

Source Article from http://rt.com/news/156316-merkel-obama-russia-sanctions/
Russian sanctions, NSA spying top the agenda at Merkel’s White House visit
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