Brazil's Rousseff postpones state visit to White House over spying concerns

    
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has postponed a state visit to the White House on Oct. 23 out of concerns about U.S. surveillance programs, the White House said on Tuesday.          

Rousseff had threatened to cancel the visit over the last few weeks over news reports that the United States' National Security Agency had spied on emails, text messages and calls between her and her aides.            

Obama spoke with Rousseff on Monday to follow up on talks he had with her at a G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, two weeks ago.              

"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," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.          

Rousseff's visit to Washington will be rescheduled for a later date, he said.             


REUTERS