WORLD NEWS | G-7 talks may gauge allies’ reaction to leaked US documents

HANOI, April 16 (AP) — While the Biden administration sees minimal damage from the disclosure of highly classified documents related to the war in Ukraine and the U.S. perception of its allies and partners, that assessment will be underway when U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Put to the first real test, Blinken met with a group of six of America’s closest foreign friends in Japan.

Three days of talks between G7 foreign ministers that began on Sunday may shed light on whether the disclosures damaged trust among allies or were just the latest embarrassment for the United States, which has grappled with the fallout from the leak of highly sensitive secrets for the past decade.

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Blinken said Saturday he hadn’t heard allies’ concerns, but the revelations of the leak and the arrest of a relatively low-level suspect would loom over the G-7 meeting since the documents were found online The first major international diplomatic conference was made public.

Blinken told reporters in Hanoi before leaving: “Since these leaks came to light, we’ve engaged with our allies and partners, we’ve done that at a high level, and we’ve made a clear commitment to protecting intelligence and our security partners. Relationship Commitment.” For Japan.

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“The least I’ve heard so far is appreciation for the steps we’re taking, and it hasn’t affected our cooperation,” he said. “I just haven’t seen it, I haven’t heard of it. Of course, the investigation is ongoing.”

This argument can be wishful thinking, especially when the world is digesting new revelations on an almost daily basis.

In addition to a military analysis of Ukrainian capabilities and Russian losses, the leaked documents also revealed assessments of Taiwan’s defense capabilities and internal wrangling in Britain, Egypt, Israel, South Korea and Japan.

“As you know, one suspect is now in custody, but I know, just as importantly, that steps are being taken to further protect the information,” Blinken said. “But so far, based on my conversations, I have not heard anything that would affect our work with allies and partners.”

However, the U.S. has run into similar problems before, most notably when then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was forced to leak numerous embarrassing U.S. diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks in 2010. Apologize for the revelations.

Clinton, in particular, said she was forced to explain the U.S. position on Argentina, Israel, Italy and other allies after the collapse of WikiLeaks.

The man charged in the latest leak, 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, appeared in court Friday as prosecutors released the charges and revealed billing records and How an interview with a comrade on social media can help pinpoint a suspect.

The classified documents Teixeira allegedly posted on the online social gaming platform have not been publicly authenticated by U.S. officials. But they generally look real.

The documents range from briefing slides depicting Ukraine’s military position to an assessment of international support for Ukraine and other sensitive topics, including under what circumstances Russian President Vladimir Putin might use nuclear weapons.

Confidential documents have strict guidelines on how they are handled, secured and destroyed. They must be kept in a secure facility, and Teixeira would be in breach of agreement if copies were brought to his home.

Regardless of the legal ramifications for Teixeira and the outcome of the internal administrative investigation, neither Blinken nor top aides are likely to escape questioning over the leak, at least the fourth by U.S. sources since 2010.

The 2010 WikiLeaks release involved 251,287 State Department cables written by 271 US embassies and consulates in 180 countries and dated between December 1966 and February 2010. The cables were passed on by Assange to three of his media partners, as well as El Pais and others, and at the stage of 28 November 2010, the source name was removed.

WikiLeaks said it was the largest collection of classified documents ever released into the public domain. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)