U.S. intelligence spying on UN secretary general over his relationship with Russia, leaked documents reveal

According to purportedly leaked classified documents by Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, the United States is reportedly engaged in close surveillance of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and is dissatisfied with his dealings with Moscow, AntiWar.com reported this week.

Multiple documents have been disclosed, which apparently outline Antonio Guterres’ correspondences, including one that accuses him of obstructing efforts to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine. The document specifically refers to his exchanges with Moscow regarding the grain agreement that led to the opening of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, the report said.

The United Nations reportedly facilitated the agreement between Moscow and Kyiv by agreeing to assist in the export of Russian fertilizer and grain. Western sanctions have impeded such exports, despite agricultural products being exempted.

“UN Secretary-General Guterres is taking steps to accommodate Russia in an effort to protect the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), which he considers a pivotal UN success and key to addressing global food insecurity, and his actions are undermining broader efforts to hold Moscow accountable for its actions in Ukraine,” says one document.

The document is believed to have been written in late February or early March, prior to the extension of the grain deal between Russia and Ukraine on March 18.

It says in early February, Guterres “urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a letter to renew the BSGI before its term expires on March 18 and Guterres emphasized his efforts to improve Russia’s ability to export, even if that involves sanctioned Russian entities or individuals, according to FISA-derived signal intelligence.”

Signal intelligence is a term used to describe information that is acquired by intercepting communications. After the disclosure that the United States was reportedly monitoring Guterres, his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, commented to Al Jazeera that he was “not surprised by the fact that people are spying on him and listening in on his private conversations.”

“What is surprising is the malfeasance or incompetence that allows for such private conversations to be distorted and become public,” Dujarric said.

Other documents detailed private communications between Guterres and his deputy, Antiwar.com reported.

“Today, the Justice Department arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press conference on April 13. “Teixeira is an employee of the United States Air Force National Guard. FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident. He will have an initial appearance at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.”

However, a federal judge has postponed the pretrial detention hearing for Teixeira, CBS News reported. The hearing was scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

Teixeira has been accused of two charges — unlawful retention and transmission of national defense information, as well as unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents. If found guilty on both counts, he could face a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Magistrate Judge David Hennessy granted the request made by Teixeira’s public defenders to postpone the detention hearing for two weeks to enable them to examine the government’s detention application. The Justice Department agreed to the delay.

“It’s not known how many documents were posted. CBS News has reviewed more than 50 that appear to be part of the leak. The documents reviewed cover the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China, Turkey, South Korea and Israel,” CBS News reported.

As per the charging documents, one of the documents that was posted by Jack Teixeira on social media “described the status of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including troop movements, on a particular date.” The government has confirmed that the said document is classified at the highest level, according to the criminal complaint filed against Teixeira.

Sources include:

CBSNews.com

AlJazeera.com

AntiWar.com