 "Daily newspapers with covers, dedicated to the recent phone call of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, are laid out at a newsstand in a street in Moscow on February 13, 2025. Reuters")
As US President Donald Trump seeks to bury the hatchet with old American foe Russia, Washington’s allies are hardly pleased.
NBC News is reporting, quoting four sources, that American allies are considering scaling back intelligence sharing with Washington, owing to concerns that information related to their foreign assets may be revealed or exposed.
The outlet quoted an official as saying that protecting their foreign assets and agents is always paramount for an intelligence agency. Thus, to keep their agents safe and protect their identities, some foreign intelligence agencies might very well choose not to share vital information.
Who are the allies?
According to the report, among the US allies considering scaling back intelligence co-operation are Saudi Arabia, Israel as well as members of the Five Eyes alliance, which consists of US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
“Those discussions are already happening,” one official was quoted as saying. However, the source added that no such decision has yet been made.
White House’s response
A spokesperson for the White House dismissed such prospects, highlighting USA’s “unrivalled intelligence capabilities”.
“The US has unrivalled intelligence capabilities which is exactly why intelligence sharing initiatives such as the Five Eyes exist,” spokesman Brian Hughes was quoted as saying by NBC News.
“President Trump is clear-eyed on all threats our adversaries pose to our national security and he will work with any ally or partner who understands the dangerous world inherited after the disastrous Biden years," he added. “On Biden’s watch, we had the war in Ukraine, the surrender in Afghanistan, and the slaughter of the innocents on October 7th.”
How are American allies reacting to the report?
However, US allies like the UK, Israel and Canada have downplayed the report, refusing to entertain prospects of ending or limiting intelligence sharing with Washington.
A British government spokesperson was quoted by NBC as saying, “The US is the UK’s closest ally and we will continue to cooperate closely on defence, intelligence and security matters. Any suggestion otherwise is totally untrue.”
Impact Shorts
View AllCanada’s Security Intelligence Service also said that its intelligence relations with the US were “long-standing and resilient.” “Canada deeply values its partnership with the United States, and we believe that it is in the strategic interest of both countries to continue our strong national security cooperation,” it added in a statement.
An Israeli official said, “Cooperation between Israel and the United States on every level, including the sharing of crucial intelligence data, is as strong and solid as ever."
(With inputs from agencies)