U.N. chief Antonio Guterres is “not surprised” after final week’s leak of extremely labeled Pentagon paperwork reportedly indicated that the U.S. was spying on his cellphone, his spokesperson mentioned Thursday.
“(Guterres is) not surprised by the fact that people are spying on him and listening in to his private conversations,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric mentioned in a press release.
Dujarric criticized the leaks of extremely labeled U.S. intelligence paperwork which might be believed to be essentially the most severe safety breach in a decade.
The far-reaching leak has shaken capitals from Washington to Kyiv to Seoul with revelations of the U.S. spying on allies and foes alike and the disclosure of delicate army intelligence concerning the battle in Ukraine.
Some of essentially the most delicate leaked particulars are purportedly associated to Ukraine’s army capabilities and shortcomings. They additionally include details about U.S. allies, together with Israel, South Korea and Türkiye.
Documents reportedly additionally confirmed that the U.S. was monitoring Guterres as a result of it believed he was too delicate on Russia.
According to the BBC, one doc mentioned how Guterres is just too keen to accommodate Russian pursuits.
“The Secretary-General has been at his job for quite some time. He’s been in politics and public figure for quite some time. So he’s not surprised,” Dujarric mentioned in response to a query concerning the leaks.
What is shocking, he mentioned, “is the malfeasance or incompetence that allows that such private conversations to be distorted and become public.”
When requested if the U.N. chief shall be protesting to the U.S., Dujarric responded: “We’re not in the habit of revealing his private phone calls with various member states.”
The leak additionally revealed a non-public dialog between Guterres and his deputy concerning the Black Sea grain deal.
The U.N. and Türkiye brokered the grain deal in July final yr to assist alleviate a world meals disaster worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupting exports from two of the world’s main grain suppliers.
Asked concerning the reviews, Dujarric mentioned: “The Secretary-General is not soft on any one country another.”
“He has been very clear about the violations of international law, very clear about the violations of the charter. He says the same thing when he’s in Moscow, when he’s in Kyiv, when he’s in New York, and that’s in the open record,” he mentioned.
“Our efforts, his efforts have been to mitigate the impact of the war on the world’s poorest. And that means doing what we can to drive down the price of food and the price of grain and fertilizer worldwide,” he added.
Source: www.dailysabah.com