The relationship between Brazil and the United States strained again on Monday after reports surfaced that Brazil's state oil and gas giant Petrobras was a prime target of U.S. government spying activity, SIA reports citing Xinhua.
The latest revelations were aired Sunday night on TV news show "Fantastico", which revealed a week earlier that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) spied on the private communications of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, who was in Geneva for a meeting, reportedly left the city in a hurry earlier Monday and headed to Washington D.C., where he is expected to meet with U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
The spying on Petrobras concerns Brazil a lot because of its newly discovered off-shore oil reserves.
The documents contradict Washington's previous claims that its global surveillance scheme is exclusively designed to combat terrorism, as the snooping looks more like industrial espionage.
In response, the NSA made a statement denying it spies on Petrobras' or any other companies'trade secrets, but failed to explain why the company's name appears in the documents.
Last week, Rousseff talked with U.S. President Barack Obama at a G20 meeting hosted by Russia, and said Obama promised to present a full explanation on the matter by Wednesday.
However, the news that Petrobras was targeted may add to the complexity of the issue.
Rousseff, who canceled a scheduled trip by her advance team last week, indicated she may scrap an official visit to the United States, scheduled for October, unless Washington offers a satisfactory explanation.
The spying scandal may also impact Brazil's acquisition of 36 fighter jets from the United States.
Bütün xəbərlər Facebook səhifəmizdə
USD
EUR
GBP
RUB