Merkel says spying on allies is a waste of energy

Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi enters the hall during the closing ceremony of the Yemeni national dialogue conference in Sanaa January 25, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi reuters_tickers

BERLIN (Reuters) – Spying on allies is a waste of energy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday when asked about two suspected U.S. spy cases that have come to light in the last few days and caused anger in Germany.

“From my point of view, spying on allies… is a waste of energy. We have so many problems, we should focus on the important things,” Merkel said in some of her strongest comments yet on the subject at a news conference with visiting Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca.

She said the priorities should include dealing with challenges in Syria and fighting terrorists and that confidence between allies should be strengthened.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Stephen Brown)