Merkel says US-German trust is at stake in double-agent case

Chancellor Angela Merkel says allegations that a German intelligence agent sold documents to the US risks undermining trust between the allies.

If the reports were correct it would be a "serious case", Merkel said at a press briefing with Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing yesterday.

"If the allegations are true, it would be for me a clear contradiction as to what I consider to be trusting cooperation between agencies and partners," she said.

United States officials have not commented on the arrest of an employee of Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency.

Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was on a trip to Mongolia, said the spying case would have consequences if suspicions were confirmed.

"We haven't finished clearing this up yet. But if suspicions are confirmed that American secret services were involved, it will become a political issue," he said in Ulan Bator.

The US ambassador to Germany, who was called to a meeting at the foreign ministry late on Friday, had been told Washington was expected to shed light on the reports "as quickly as possible", Steinmeier said.