WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama's national security adviser conceded there are legitimate questions about U.S. spying on its allies, the White House said Wednesday as it sought to sooth Brazil's concerns about far-reaching surveillance by the National Security Agency.
A White House meeting between Susan Rice and Brazil's foreign minister, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, constituted the latest attempt by the Obama administration to stem the damage to foreign relations inflicted by revelations by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. But it was not immediately clear whether that damage had been repaired.
In the meeting, Rice acknowledged that recently revealed surveillance programs have sparked tensions in an otherwise close U.S.-Brazilian relationship, said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House's National Security Council. She said some of the NSA's activities have been distorted by Snowden's leaks to the news media while others "raise legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed."
"The United States is committed to working with Brazil to address these concerns, while we continue to work together on a shared agenda of bilateral, regional and global initiatives," Hayden said.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been among the most vocal of foreign leaders expressing outrage over U.S. spying. After leaked documents showed U.S. spy agencies had monitored her communications, Rousseff threatened to cancel a planned state visit to Washington.
