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 are not subject to international sanctions, but Russia says it has encountered difficulties securing transport and insurance.

Commenting on the document, UN officials expressed irritation at the US interpretation of Guterres' efforts and said he had made clear his opposition to Russia's war on Ukraine.

Another document from mid-February describes a conversation between Guterres and his deputy, Amina Mohamed. In it, the secretary-general expressed "horror" at European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's call for Europe to produce more weapons and ammunition as a result of the war in Ukraine.

The leaked secret documents have already caused more than one tremor. The one affecting Bulgaria was based on the claim that we had offered our MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine on the eve of the outbreak of war - something that the Bulgarian authorities had not previously disclosed, but after the document was leaked, the Ministry of Defense said, that we did not offer the Soviet fighters for free. President Radev assured that the leaked document does not contain a true statement. "If we had offered the Bulgarian MiG-29s, they would now be in Ukraine," he said on the sidelines of the National Assembly yesterday. Read more about it here.

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