German foreign minister - response to alleged U.S. spying was right

"Our decision to ask the current representative of the U.S. intelligence services to leave Germany is the right decision, a necessary step and a fitting reaction to the break of trust which has occurred," Steinmeier told reporters.

"Taking action was unavoidable, in my opinion. We need and expect a relationship based on trust."

He added a strong transatlantic partnership was especially important now given international crises. He would tell U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Vienna at the weekend that Germany was eager to revive that partnership on the basis of mutual trust.

The scandal has chilled relations with Washington to levels not seen since Chancellor Angela Merkel's predecessor opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. It follows allegations that Merkel herself was among thousands of Germans whose mobile phones have been bugged by American agents.

The decision to ask the CIA station chief to leave came after dramatic reports of U.S. espionage activity in Germany.

On Wednesday, Berlin said it had discovered a suspected U.S. spy in the Defence Ministry. That came just days after a German foreign intelligence worker was arrested on suspicion of being a CIA informant and admitted passing documents to a U.S. contact.

Public outrage at the revelations put pressure on Merkel to take action against the United States.

Germany's biggest selling newspaper, Bild, said Merkel had ordered German secret services to reduce cooperation with U.S. counterparts to a minimum, while the Sueddeutche Zeitung called the expulsion "an unprecedented act of protest against American arrogance".

However, there is a limit to what Merkel can do and both sides have stressed the need to continue to work closely together.

(Reporting by Alexandra Hudson and Stephen Brown, writing by Annika Breidthardt; Editing by Giles Elgood)