While the White House is trying to play this down currently in the press conference, Brazil's President Rousseff has issued a statement postponing her trip to the US due to the illegal espionage of the Americans:
- *BRAZIL SAYS U.S. HASN'T PROVIDED ADEQUATE EXPLANATION ON SPYING
- *BRAZIL'S SAYS IT NEEDS U.S. EXPLANATION BEFORE STATE VISIT
- *BRAZIL SAYS U.S. ILLEGAL MONITORING OF GOVT, COS. IS 'SERIOUS'
- *BRAZIL PRESIDENT ROUSSEFF POSTPONES STATE VISIT TO THE U.S.
According to AP, Obama spoke to Rouseff on the phone but that didn't do it as the Brazilian President demanded a full public apology.
Via AP,
Brazil's president has postponed a state visit to Washington in response to U.S. spying.
President Dilma Rousseff says Tuesday she's not making the trip next month, which was to include a state dinner.
Rousseff has been angered reports based on leaked National Security Agency documents. They've shown that her communications with top aides were intercepted.
The NSA espionage program also targeted state-run oil company Petrobras.
Brazil reportedly has been the top Latin American target for spying, with data on billions of emails and telephone calls swooped up in NSA programs.
President Barack Obama called Rousseff late Monday and tried to talk her into maintaining her trip, the Brazilian president's office said.
But Rousseff was demanding a full public apology from Obama for the spying, which she didn't get.
And The White House's response,
Statement by the Press Secretary on Postponement of the State Visit of President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil
Yesterday, the President spoke by telephone with President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil to follow-up on their meeting in St. Petersburg and Ambassador Rice’s meeting with the Foreign Minister of Brazil last week.
The United States and Brazil enjoy a strategic partnership rooted in shared democratic values and in the desire to advance broad-based economic growth and job creation. President Obama’s invitation to President Rousseff for the first State Visit of his second term is a reflection of the importance he places on this growing global partnership and the close bonds between the American and Brazilian people.
The President has said that he understands and regrets the concerns disclosures of alleged U.S. intelligence activities have generated in Brazil and made clear that he is committed to working together with President Rousseff and her government in diplomatic channels to move beyond this issue as a source of tension in our bilateral relationship. As the President previously stated, he has directed a broad review of U.S. intelligence posture, but the process will take several months to complete. President Obama and President Rousseff both look forward to the State Visit, which will celebrate our broad relationship and should not be overshadowed by a single bilateral issue, no matter how important or challenging the issue may be. For this reason, the presidents have agreed to postpone President Rousseff’s State Visit to Washington scheduled for October 23.
President Obama looks forward to welcoming President Rousseff to Washington at a date to be mutually agreed. Other important cooperation mechanisms, including the presidential dialogues on political, economic, energy, and defense cooperation, will continue.