BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhuanet) -- ’s top security official has publicly backed President Francois Hollande’s demand for clear and precise explanations about reports of US spying.

Speaking at the American ambassador’s 4th of July garden party, French Interior Minister, Manuel Valls, said such practices, if proven, do not have a place between friends and allies.

He said, "In the name of our friendship, we owe each other honesty, we must say things clearly, directly and frankly. This is why the French president asked the American government for clear and precise explanations and, in a brief time, concerning espionage, the word is the right one, of our diplomatic missions or activities."

Later Thursday, Valls said France had joined Italy in rejecting an asylum request from US whistle-blower Edward Snowden. He says he had received the request via the French Embassy in Moscow, but it had been rejected after taking into account a legal analysis of Snowden’s situation.

(Source: CNTV.cn)