BERLIN. Nov 5 (Interfax) - Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden is determined to provide assistance to the German government in investigating the tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel's telephone conversations, Snowden said in a letter supposedly addressed to Merkel, which Bundestag member Hans-Christian Strobele has publicized after coming home from Moscow.
"I hope that, when the difficulties of this humanitarian situation have been resolved, I will be able to cooperate in the responsible finding of fact regarding reports in the media," Snowden said in the letter.
Strobele said Snowden would prefer to testify at U.S. Congress rather than the Bundestag if he had a choice.
Strobele had said earlier on Euronews that Snowden was ready to testify to German law enforcement agencies regarding the tapping of Merkel's telephone by U.S. special services either in Moscow or in Germany. Snowden made it understood that he knows a lot, and even despite the NSA has blocked him from traveling anywhere, he is ready to go to Germany, but, in order for this to happen, the terms and conditions of his trip need to be determined clearly, Strobele said.
Snowden says in his letter that he would like to come to Germany, but only when his situation is resolved.
"I look forward to speaking with you in your country when the situation is resolved, and thank you for your efforts in upholding the international laws that protect us all," the letter says.
He also says that, during his service in the CIA and NSA, he "witnessed systemic violations of law by my government that crated a moral duty to act."
He says he is "heartened" by the response to his actions both in the U.S. and outside it.
"Citizens around the world, as well as high officials - including in the United States - have judged the revelation of an unaccountable system of pervasive surveillance to be a public service. These spying revelations have resulted in the proposal of many new laws and policies to address formerly concealed abuses of the public trust," he said.
However, Snowden pointed out that, even despite positive outcomes of his activities, the U.S. government "continues to treat dissent as defection, and seeks to criminalize political speech with felony charges that provide no defense."
"However, speaking the truth is not a crime. I am confident that with the support of the international community, the government of the United States will abandon this harmful behavior," Snowden said in his letter.