German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that he does not believe allies' trust in Germany has been damaged by the Russian eavesdropping attack on the Bundeswehr.
Scholz said he is "very sure that the trust between Germany and its allies and friends is so great that what happened there will not affect this trust." He made his comments at a press conference following a meeting with German state premiers in Berlin.
"Everyone we have spoken to directly has reported this back," he said. "And I think we can build on that."
On Friday, Russia published a 38-minute recording of an online meeting between senior military officials discussing the Taurus cruise missile.
Initial investigations by the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) have revealed that the carelessness of a general made the eavesdropping attack possible.
The Taurus weapon system and the eavesdropping attack on the Bundeswehr are also likely to be discussed when Scholz faces questions from members of the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, for the first time this year.
That is set for March 13, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Wednesday.
A fortnight ago, Scholz stayed away from the Bundestag debate on the Russian war against Ukraine, which focussed on the possible delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine, which Scholz opposes.
The opposition criticized him for this. On February 26 during an interview at a dpa editorial conference in Berlin, Scholz said he is opposed to sending the missiles to Ukraine because the weapons have a long-range and he does not want Germany to be seen as a participant in that war.
