Obama tells Merkel not to worry about future wiretaps

A day after formally announcing tweaks to the alleged spy activities of the NSA, US President Barack Obama reportedly made an appearance on German television to mend the soured diplomatic relations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose phone calls were said to have been tapped as part of the mass surveillance.

Obama said that although they may differ on issues of foreign policy, 'that is no reason to wiretap'.

According to The Verge, after announcing that the NSA would no longer carry out surveillance on leaders from ally nations, Obama said that as long as he was the President of the United States, the German Chancellor need not worry about that.

Based on the classified documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden, it was found that Merkel's phone conversations were being snooped on by the US intelligence agencies since 2002, which in turn led to a diplomatic stand-off between the US and Germany.

The president didn't apologise for the surveillance activity, deemed 'a serious breach of trust' by Merket, but characterized the US' surveillance powers as a 'special responsibility.'

Merkel has not yet issued a comment, but German Justice Minister Heiko Maas had said last week that only once they have signed a legally binding agreement that protects all citizens can lost trust be won back, the report added.