Pentagon Leaks: US Monitors the UN Secretary-General - Sees Guterres as Favorable to Russia

The US believes that the UN Secretary-General is too willing to accommodate Russian interests. This is evident from new revelations from the leaked secret Pentagon documents. They show that Washington is keeping a close eye on Antonio Guterres. Several documents describe private communications involving Guterres and his deputy, the BBC reports.

The documents contain remarks by Guterres about the war in Ukraine and a number of African leaders.

One of the leaked documents focused on the Black Sea grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July following fears of a global food crisis. The author of the leaked classified document doubts that Guterres wants to preserve the deal so much that he is willing to accommodate Russia's interests.

"Guterres has made great efforts to improve Russia's ability to export," the document said, "even if that includes sanctioned Russian entities or individuals."

According to the assessment, his actions in February "undermine broader efforts to hold Moscow accountable for its actions in Ukraine."

UN officials were outraged by the suggestion that the world's highest-ranking diplomat is soft on Moscow, the British media noted.

An unnamed senior official says the United Nations is "driven by the need to mitigate the impact of war on the world's poorest." "That means doing what we can to reduce the cost of food," he added, "and to ensure that fertilizers are available to the countries that need them most".

Russia has often complained that international sanctions are adversely affecting its grain and fertilizer exports and has at least twice threatened to end cooperation on the grain deal.

Russian grain and fertilizer...