Secretary of Defense Llyod Austin did not beat around the bush Friday in a meeting with allied defense officials following a significant intelligence leak earlier this month, telling the U.S.’ international partners that he "take[s] the issue very seriously."
"We will continue to work closely and respectfully with our deeply valued allies and partners," he told leaders from the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the onset of its 11th meeting at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. "I’ve been struck by your solidarity and your commitment to reject efforts to divide us.
"And we will not let anything fracture our unity," he added.
JUDGE DELAYS LEAKED DOCUMENTS SUSPECT JACK TEIXEIRA'S COURT HEARING AFTER DEFENSE ASKS FOR MORE TIME
Since the military intelligence leak was first reported earlier this month, concern has mounted that the breach could create fissures in the alliance that has vowed to back Ukraine in the war against Russia.
Questions over whether allies will be more hesitant to share intelligence with the U.S. have surfaced, along with concerns that the U.S. could clamp down on its dissemination of information on the warfront in an abundance of caution.
However, Austin has set out to make clear that the intelligence leak will not drive a wedge between Washington and its Western allies as investigators continue to look into how the breach occurred.
PENTAGON LEAK SUSPECT JACK TEIXEIRA CHARGED IN FEDERAL COURT, TELLS DAD 'I LOVE YOU'
Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was charged last week with violating the Espionage Act after he was allegedly found to have released classified documents involving the war in Ukraine on a gaming chat room known as Discord as far back as December.
Air Force officials are investigating how a lone airman could have possibly accessed and distributed potentially hundreds of classified documents.
The intelligence mission has also been revoked from the Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing based in Cape Cod – where Teixeira served – which granted it access to the documents pending further review.
