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Turkish-German relations strained following spying revelations

Revelations about Germany spying on Turkey have heightened tensions between the two NATO allies.
Broken antenna covers of Former National Security Agency (NSA) listening station are seen at the Teufelsberg hill (German for Devil's Mountain) in Berlin, June 30, 2013. The United States taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month and has classed its biggest European ally as a target similar to China, according to secret U.S. documents quoted by a German newsmagazine. The revelations of alleged U.S. surveillance programmes based on documents taken by fugitive for
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ISTANBUL — Relations between Turkey and Germany, Ankara's key European ally, appear headed for a rough ride following revelations that the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) has been spying on Turkey since at least 2009.

Asserting that “some principles” should always be respected in the international arena, especially between allies, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu demanded answers from Turkey's NATO partner on Aug. 18. “We are faced with a situation that must definitely be explained,” he said.

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