Pentagon leaks reveal UN chief's eagerness to serve Russian interests

Secret US documents leaked online assess UN Secretary-General António Guterres as being too eager to pander to Russian interests.

The files suggest Washington has been closely monitoring Antonio Guterres, BBC reports.

Several documents describe private communications involving Guterres and his deputy.

The documents contain candid observations from Guterres about the war in Ukraine and some African leaders.

One leaked document focuses on the Black Sea grain deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey in July following fears of a global food crisis, which suggests that Guterres was so keen to preserve the deal that he was willing to accommodate Russia's interests.

"Guterres emphasised his efforts to improve Russia's ability to export," the document says, "even if that involves sanctioned Russian entities or individuals."

In addition, UN officials bristled at the suggestion that the world's top diplomat was being soft on Moscow.

Saying he wouldn't comment on leaked documents, one senior official said the UN was "driven by the need to mitigate the impact of the war on the world's poorest."

"That means doing what we can to drive down the price of food," he added, "and to ensure that fertiliser is accessible to those countries that need it the most."

Russian grain and fertilizer are not subject to international sanctions, but Russia says it has experienced difficulties with securing shipping and insurance.

UN officials are clearly unhappy with America's interpretation of Guterres' efforts. And they say that Guterres has made his opposition to Russia's war very clear.

Another document from mid-February describes a frank conversation between Guterres and his deputy, Amina Mohammed.

In it, Guterres expresses "dismay" at a call from the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, for Europe to produce more weapons and ammunition as a result of the war in Ukraine.

The two also talk about a recent summit of African leaders. Amina Mohammed says that Kenya's president, William Ruto, is "ruthless" and that she "doesn't trust him."

It's well known that the US is among a number of nations which routinely spy on the UN - but when the products of that espionage come to light, it's highly embarrassing and, for the world's leading diplomat, potentially damaging.

US national security spokesperson John Kirby told the BBC that the US government was scrambling to get to the bottom of the leaks.

"This was a series of dangerous leaks. We don't know who's responsible, we don't know why. And we are assessing the national security implications, and right now there is also a criminal investigation," he said during President Joe Biden's trip to Belfast on April 12.

"We want to get to the bottom of this, we want to find out who did this and why."

Washington was "reaching out actively" to allies to answer questions they have about the leaks, so they know "how seriously we are taking this", he added.

Kirby said that while the authenticity of some of the documents had yet to be established, they "certainly appear to have come from various sources of intelligence across the government".