Germany has been spying on Turkey since 2009

German intelligence agencies are spying on Turkey for fear of the impact of terrorist groups in Turkey on German national security, the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper reported, citing government sources.

According to the newspaper report, the German intelligence BND has been tasked with intelligence and spying activities on Turkey, which the German government “views as different from other NATO allies”. Reports revealed that Germany has been spying on Turkey since 2009.

The unnamed sources confirmed that developments in Turkey have direct effects on German national security, particularly with the presence of the terrorist PKK in Turkey and extremist leftist and rightist groups in Germany.

Patrick Sensburg, a member of parliament from the ruling Christian Democratic Party, said that Germany’s spying activities do not target members of allied governments, and that all recordings belonging to members of governments allied with Germany have been deleted.

However, Sensburg told Deutsche-Presse Agentur that his country needs to be informed about the developments on the Turkish-Iraqi borders, and that intelligence information are required for well-informed political decisions.

MP Dr Rolf Mützenich, of the leftist Social Democratic Party, opposed the government’s decision to spy on Turkey, stressing that their bilateral relations should be based on mutual trust.

In press statements yesterday, Mützenich said: “Why don’t we try to communicate directly with the Turkish government to acquire the information we need regarding the PKK?”

MP Dr. Konstantin von Notz, from the Green Party, requested German chancellor Angela Merkel elaborate on the spying activities conducted by the German government against its allies.

Citing an official briefing, the German daily, Der Spiegel, has revealed spying operations by the German intelligence agency on its NATO ally Turkey since 2009, and on the current US Secretary of State John Kerry and his predecessor Hillary Clinton.