Friday evening, the State Department released a joint statement from the June 10-11 “U.S.-Germany Cyber Bilateral Meeting.” The meeting was held in Washington.

The statement notes that Germany is concerned about the recent disclosure of the NSA program. “Germany noted its concern in connection with the recent disclosures about U.S. Government surveillance programs. The U.S. referenced statements by the U.S. President and the Director of National Intelligence on this issue and emphasized that such programs are designed to protect the United States and other countries from terrorist and other threats, are consistent with U.S. law, and are subject to strict supervision and oversight by all three branches of the U.S. Government. Both sides recognized that this issue will be the subject of further dialogue,” the statement reads.