Tapping: Germany to seek binding agreement with US, says envoy

AHMEDABAD: Germany is seeking a legally binding agreement with the United States in the wake of revelations that phone conversations of German Chancellor Angela Merkel were allegedly tapped by US intelligence agencies, country's envoy Michael Steiner said today.

"I think Germany is worried about the information we received and Chancellor Merkel has said that it is not the behaviour you've between partners and friends," Steiner said here when he was asked about the revelations.

"Therefore, we are seeking, with the United States, a legally binding agreement that these things, if they have happened in the past, should not happen in the future because we cannot accept that," he said.

According to German magazine 'Der Spiegel', the US National Security Agency (NSA) may have been tapping Merkel's phone for more than 10 years. The report led to German government summoning the US ambassador.