Madrid : The Spanish government said Monday that the alleged US spying on Spain, if confirmed, will badly damage the existing relations between the two countries.
Describing it as an "unacceptable practice", Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said if it was discovered the US had spied on Spanish citizens, "it could mean a rupture in the traditional climate of confidence" between the two countries, Xinhua reported.
Spain would protect itself "at the maximum level" with the country's penal code and could open legal action against the US National Security Agency (NSA), he said.
The minister made the remarks after a 40-minute meeting with the US ambassador to Spain James Costos and the Spanish Secretary of State for the European Union Inigo Mendez de Vigo at the offices of the foreign ministry.
