NSA Scandal: Kerry To Visit Berlin To Rebuild Trust

[unhappycamper]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/john-kerry-to-visit-german-chancellor-and-foreign-minister-a-946264.html



US Secretary of State John Kerry plans to visit Berlin on Friday in an attempt to repair the damage done by the NSA spying scandal. German officials aren't expecting any official apology, and the trip comes at a difficult time in trans-Atlantic ties.

NSA Scandal: Kerry To Visit Berlin To Rebuild Trust
By Gregor Peter Schmitz and Matthias Gebauer
January 29, 2014 – 05:53 PM

United States Secretary of State John Kerry wants to step in personally to smooth out trans-Atlantic relations that have deteriorated as a result of the NSA spying scandal. A government spokesman confirmed that Kerry will visit Berlin during a trip to Germany on Friday.

Kerry is a scheduled speaker at the prestigious Munich Security Conference this weekend, but he plans to meet with his counterpart, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Friday. A meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also planned. Kerry is also expected to hold a press conference and answer questions from journalists.

Nevertheless, German diplomats are already warning against high expectations for the meeting. Already the way in which the visit has been planned suggests that the US government isn't giving the secretary of state's Germany visit its highest priority. American officials didn't alert their German counterparts of the details of when they could expect Kerry in Berlin until Wednesday.

Diplomats say they aren't expecting the secretary of state to provide any formal apology for spying by the NSA. Instead, the trip will address more general working issues. Hopes for a formal no-spy agreement between Germany and the United States have also largely vanished.