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Uruguay's president quips about alleged U.S. espionage

(Xinhua)    11:00, September 20, 2013
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MONTEVIDEO, Sept. 19 -- Uruguay's President Jose Mujica Thursday quipped about alleged spying on his country by the United States, indicating it would be "a waste of time."

In an interview with local radio station Montecarlo, Mujica said he hoped U.S. intelligence agencies "aren't wasting time spying on Uruguay."

Since Washington's global surveillance program was first exposed in early summer by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, each week has brought new allegations of spying in Latin America.h Brazilian magazine "Istoe" recently reported that the United States monitors digital communications in and out of Uruguay and other Latin American countries from a base set up on the island of Ascencion in the Atlantic.

Mujica, who will travel to the U.S. on Sunday to attend a United Nations General Assembly session for the first time, was asked if he plans to bring up the issue with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.

The head of state said he had no meeting scheduled with the U.S. president, but added, "If Obama wants to make friends, he should stop spying on them."

Mujica also joked that "with the evolution of wireless communications today, we have to assume that everything is being eavesdropped and what isn't being eavesdropped are things they don't want to hear," adding that espionage was a "waste of money."

Days ago, the Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro asked the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense for information related to alleged spying on Uruguay.

Mujica is expected to make an official visit to Washington before the end of the year to meet with Obama.

(Editor:WangXin、Yao Chun)

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