Obama says EU, all intelligence agencies seek info on each other

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama played down a controversy over whether Washington had spied on its European allies, saying on Monday intelligence services around the world — including in the EU — seek additional insight beyond regular media reports.

Obama, speaking at a news conference in Tanzania, said the United States would contact its European counterparts to address their concerns after studying allegations in a recent magazine article about the spying.

The U.S. president also repeated that Washington was working through law enforcement channels to prod Russia to extradite former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal)