Brazilian President's cancellation of visit to U.S. over spying issue

The White House on Tuesday confirmed cancellation of a scheduled state visit by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to the United States in late October.

According to a statement released by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with his Brazilian counterpart Monday on the matter, saying he " understands and regrets the concerns disclosures of alleged U.S. intelligence activities have generated in Brazil."

A series of recent revelations of U.S. spying on Brazil's leadership, including the president, based on documents leaked by former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, have created uproar in Brazil. The documents showed massive U.S. spying on Brazilian phone calls and e-mails.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry indicated during his visit to Brazil on Aug.13 that the U.S. would continue to monitor individual and corporate communications in Brazil for security reasons.

Despite U.S. claim that its electronic spying program aims to thwart terrorism, Brazil has alleged the real motive is industrial espionage, pointing to intercepted emails carrying sensitive data on Brazil's oil reserves.

President Obama is committed to working together with Brazilians and the Brazilian government to move beyond the spying issue as a "source of tension," said Carney in the statement.