Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has halted advance preparations for a Washington visit, officials said today, amid a row over reports she was targeted by US spies.
A spokeswoman for Rousseff said a trip by a Brazilian delegation to prepare for the president's October 23 visit to Washington "was cancelled."
The spokeswoman did not say why the trip was cancelled, or whether it might rescheduled, but it comes after Brazil demanded explanations from Washington for reports that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on her communications.
Rousseff, who is in Saint Petersburg, Russia for a G20 meeting that includes US President Barack Obama, "wants a retraction by the government of the United States," the spokeswoman said.
A Brazilian foreign ministry spokesman told AFP "the technical mission was postponed" and added that "the expectation is it will take place" later.
"We are waiting for a formal explanation from the US government," he said. He said it has not been provided so far.
Asked whether Rousseff would meet with Obama on the sidelines of the G20 meeting, the presidential spokeswoman said "there is still nothing planned but she still has until tomorrow."
US national security spokesman Ben Rhodes told reporters in St Petersburg that the White House had not been informed of any delay to planning for Rousseff's visit Washington and planned talks with Obama.
"I'm not aware of that. I know that they are seeing each other. I think they're seating next to each other at the G20 sessions actually, so I'm sure they'll have an opportunity to talk," he said.
"I addressed this earlier today, in terms of our commitment to work with them, to understand their concern around the NSA issue, that's what we'll continue to do."
The October 23 visit would be Rousseff's first to Washington, and the first state visit by a foreign leader this year.
A Brazilian delegation had been scheduled to travel to Washington on Saturday to prepare for the presidential visit.
US journalist Glenn Greenwald, who obtained files on US electronic surveillance programmes from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, reported Sunday that the NSA was using a programm to access all Internet content Rousseff visited online.
He told Globo television that the NSA was trying to better understand Rousseff's methods of communication and interlocutors.
