Obama assures Merkel US 'not snooping on' her phone

US President Barack Obama has reportedly assured German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the country's spy agency was not monitoring her phone calls.

A spokesman for Merkel said that the German leader viewed such practices as completely unacceptable.

According to the BBC, Merkel called on US officials to clarify the extent of their surveillance in Germany after reports flourished that the NSA snooped on German citizens as well as diplomats when in the US.

The White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the US is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the Merkel.

Carney further said that US was examining concerns from Germany as well as France and other American allies over US intelligence practices.

The US has been facing severe criticism for its alleged secret surveillance programmes after NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked highly classified data about the country's programmes targeting citizens.

The report said that the US allies have been so much angered that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff cancelled her visit to the country in protest against the alleged electronic espionage by the NSA.