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The rapprochement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump is worrying not only for Ukraine. According to a report on NBC Thursday, Israel and other allies of Washington are wary of sharing intelligence with the U.S. due to the warming of relations between the Kremlin and the White House. Among the countries that are wary of sharing information are the other members of the Five Eyes spy alliance - Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; and other countries such as Israel and Saudi Arabia.
According to the report, the main concern of the countries and the intelligence agencies operating in them is that the identity of foreign assets, who they cooperate with, could be accidentally revealed due to this dramatic rapprochement between Washington and Moscow. According to several sources who spoke to NBC, “discussions on the subject are already taking place.” However, one source said that no real action has yet been taken.
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Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photos: Oliver Contreras/AFP, Roberto Schmidt/AFP, Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via Reuters)
The sources noted that the U.S. partnership is examining how protocols regarding intelligence sharing can be reexamined in a way that takes into account the warming of relations between the Trump administration and the Kremlin.
The review is part of a wider examination of the wide range of relations with Washington among many U.S. allies, including diplomacy, trade and military cooperation, as well as intelligence matters, the sources said.
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NBC noted that every intelligence agency treats its obligations to its foreign agents and sources as "sacred," and is committed to protecting their security and identities.
Senior officials who are no longer in office told the U.S. news network that anything that would jeopardize this commitment would constitute a breach of trust between agents and sources and intelligence organizations, and that could lead some spy services to hold back on some information sharing with Washington.