BERLIN, July 11. /ITAR-TASS/. Germany has demanded that Washington ends espionage activities against it after expelling the US spy chief in Berlin on Thursday.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas is reported to have told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper on Friday that the United States should now “wipe the slate clean” over spying in Germany, adding that the Americans needed a “clear stop signal”.

“The Americans must now actively help clear up the allegations,” Maas is quoted as saying. “This includes a clear statement on any other cases of espionage which we may not know about yet. Above all, we need a firm assurance from Washington that these activities have finished once and for all.”

US spying in Germany would have repercussions, the paper reported Maas as saying, noting that “espionage and friendship are incompatible”.

Germany ordered the top US intelligence officer in Berlin to leave the country on Thursday after months of frustration at the lack of co-operation by the US to clear up the National Security Agency’s spying scandal, and the uncovering of two alleged US spies working in Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, and the Ministry of Defense.

Germany's daily Bild reported on Friday that German intelligence was limiting co-operation with US counterparts to "bare essentials” such as safety for German soldiers in Afghanistan and terrorist threats.