Follow us on:   

US trip depends on Obama’s response- Rousseff
September 7, 2013, 7:47 am

the Brazilian Senate formed an Investigative Parliamentary Commission last week to probe reports that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on President Dilma Rousseff [AP]

The Brazilian Senate formed an Investigative Parliamentary Commission last week to probe reports that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on President Dilma Rousseff [AP]

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said US President Barack Obama had agreed to respond formally to the spying allegations by next Wednesday.

“My trip to Washington depends on the political conditions to be created by President Obama,” said President Rousseff.

Rousseff and Obama had met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Saint Petersburg.

Brazil and US ties have come under increasing strain as the Brazilian Senate formed an Investigative Parliamentary Commission last week to probe reports that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on the Brazilian leader.

“We intend to protect national sovereignty,” said Senator Vanessa Graziotin, of the Communist Party of Brazil (CPB).

The committee comprises of 11 main members and seven substitutes.

The commission has been tasked with probing claims the NSA monitored emails and intercepted phone calls between Rousseff and several of her top aides within an initial timeline of 180 days.

Documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden by Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald revealed in the programme that the NSA’s operation was “to improve understanding of the methods of communication and the interlocutors of the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, and her top aides.”

Obama promised to give the Brazilian government an answer by next Wednesday to its request for an explanation to the spying report, Rousseff said before leaving Russia.

Rousseff is due to make a formal state visit to Washington on October 23.

The two sides were to discuss a possible $4 billion jet-fighter deal, cooperation on oil and bio-fuels technology, as well as other commercial agreements during the trip.

Source: Agencies