The United States faces a tough
task undoing the damage inflicted by allegations it has spied on leaders of
allied countries, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.
Reports that the US National Security
Agency tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone and conducted
widespread electronic snooping in nations such as France, Italy, Spain and
elsewhere have sparked anger among American allies.
"It's not very pleasant when you are
spied on ... so the leaders are angry. I understand them," Medvedev told
Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
Medvedev suggested such spying was not
unusual, but he added that "it is assumed that it is not done in such an
absolutely cynical way".
"Can the situation be calmed? I think
it's possible. But to be honest, no assurances will help here," he said.
"What can you say in this situation? 'Sorry, we won't do it anymore' or
'We will not try to listen in on you'? Nobody will believe it."
The
snooping scandal is a result of disclosures of US secrets made to media organizations
by Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who fled the
United States and has been living in asylum in Russia since August.
Spy scandals strained relations between
Russia and the United States during Medvedev's 2008-2012 presidency and have
continued to do so since Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin last year.
Former KGB spy Putin said Russia would
shelter Snowden only if he stopped harming the United States, but the president
ignored US pleas to send the American home to face espionage charges.
The decision to grant Snowden asylum seemed
to underscore Putin's accusations that the United States preaches to the world
about rights and freedoms it does not uphold at home.
A German lawmaker said he met Snowden in
Moscow on Thursday and that the former NSA contractor was willing to come to
assist investigations into alleged US surveillance of Merkel.
On another note, Medvedev said
that the Russian government and security services will overcome security
threats and can guarantee safety at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea
resort of Sochi.
He added that Russia had taken a
number of safety measures around the city, which borders the volatile North
Caucasus region where Islamist insurgents wage nearly daily violence.
He did not specify what those measures
were.
Spending on the February Games is expected
to pass $50 billion, and they are a priority for President Vladimir Putin who
wants to use it to showcase the country's modern face to the world two decades
after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Medvedev said that the initial idea of
holding the Olympics in the sub-tropical city of Sochi, had struck him as
"extravagant", but that he was convinced the Games would be a
success.
"The city of Sochi is located in the
subtropics, and it's hosting the Winter Olympics. That in and of itself is
quite interesting. I won't hide the fact that when the idea was conceived, even
to me it seemed rather extravagant," he said.
On
Syria, the Russian PM said
that Russia hopes an international peace conference on Syria will be held
before the end of this year, despite reported differences with the United
States over opposition representation.
He appealed to both sides in Syria's civil
war to compromise and criticized the opposition for demanding assurances of President
Bashar al-Assad's departure as a condition for the talks.
REUTERS