BRUSSELS, March 6. /TASS/. There is growing concern among NATO countries about the risks of intelligence sharing, US President Donald Trump's attempts to mend relations with Russia have increased skepticism about such cooperation with Washington, Politico reported, citing current and former alliance and security officials from across the alliance.
According to the newspaper, intelligence sharing in NATO has long been complicated by mistrust between the alliance's traditional members and the Central and Eastern European countries that joined after the collapse of the USSR. The mistrust has intensified since the start of Russia's special military operation because of the pro-Russian positions of Hungary and Slovakia. Trump's attempts to mend US relations with Russia are "shaking the core of the alliance — prompting countries to wonder about the risk of sharing intelligence with Washington," Politico pointed out.
"There are a lot of whispers in the halls of NATO about the future of intelligence sharing within the alliance," Julie Smith, US ambassador to NATO under Joe Biden, told the newspaper. She confirmed that she had heard from some officials that they feared an end to data sharing by Washington.
An unnamed current NATO official, meanwhile, urged that such threats should not be exaggerated. He said that there are "naturally a lot of questions" after Trump's dispute with Vladimir Zelensky at the White House. "But the staff are keeping calm and carrying on. Of course there is corrosion [of work within the alliance] because of the approach on Ukraine, but we remain of the view that Trump has no real issues with NATO beyond [defense] spending. So that’s something," he emphasized.
Another acting official also said that recent developments on the international stage have not affected intelligence sharing within the alliance. "We haven’t seen any reduction in that [process]," he told Politico.