WikiLeaks began publishing the United States diplomatic cables leak on 28 November 2010. The documents included classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by its consulates, embassies, and diplomatic missions around the world. The cables were dated between December 1966 and February 2010, and contained assessments of host countries and their officials. The publication of the cables produced varying responses around the world.
Official reactions Asia Afghanistan Finance minister of Afghanistan Omar Zakhilwal warned that leaks would damage his country's relations with United States Government and there would no longer be "business as usual". He denied his remarks in the U.S. embassy cable dated 26 February 2010 as "absolutely, categorically wrong and false".
Azerbaijan According to member of the National Assembly Rabiyat Aslanova, "politics does not have the concept of permanent friends or enemies" and "therefore Azerbaijan will conduct its policy as usual with respect to its national interests". Aslanova said in particular that "the publications in WikiLeaks will have no influence on Azerbaijani–Turkish relations since Turkey and Azerbaijan have already spoken on this issue and said these publications are of no importance to them".
China WikiLeaks' website was censored in China. Media reports about leaked information specifically related to China were also censored, although the leak incident itself was reported within China.
India External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna said "India's government is not really concerned but we certainly are interested in finding out what this WikiLeaks are all about ..."
Iran Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said "We don't think this information was leaked ... we think it was organised to be released on a regular basis and they are pursuing political goals."
Iraq The Iraqi foreign minister criticized the leak over detailed U.S. concerns in regards to alleged Iranian involvement in Iraq and called the leaks "unhelpful and untimely".
Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the leak did not hurt Israel. He also expressed hope that Arab leaders would tell their own people what they say behind closed doors about their desire for an attack on Iran. Netanyahu stated that the documents show that "more and more countries, governments and leaders in the Middle East and in the world understand that [Iran's nuclear programme] is the fundamental threat." He also told reporters that the disclosures will make it harder for U.S. diplomats to be honest in their assessments and will make foreign leaders more cautious.
Japan Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara referred to the disclosure as a "monstrosity and a criminal act".
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said "Pakistan is taking stock of the revelations concerning Pakistan". A statement issued by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's office on his meeting with U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter made two references to "vikilikes", describing it as "misleading" and "malicious".
Saudi Arabia Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama al-Naqli says the memos "do not concern us" and the kingdom has no insight into the authenticity of the documents and "we cannot comment on them". The former director General of Saudi Arabia's intelligence agency Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah, prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud said that America's "credibility and honesty" had been damaged by the leaks. He described the cables as "a hodgepodge of selectivity, inaccuracy, agenda pursuit, and downright disinformation".
Singapore Singapore's Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed concern over the "damaging action of WikiLeaks".
Sri Lanka G. L. Peiris, Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs, denied the allegations made by the U.S. ambassador in Sri Lanka, stating "the conveying of such mendacious stories clearly fabricated to denigrate Sri Lanka, are totally negative to the objective of diplomacy, which is building bridges and promoting understanding". The government spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the leaks were "damning".
Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said "Let us see everything that comes from the site, then we will gauge how serious this is". Hüseyin Çelik, deputy leader of Erdogan's AKP (the majority party in Parliament), blamed Israel for the release of the documents and accused the Israeli government of trying to put pressure on Turkey through the release.
Republic of China (Taiwan) Defense Minister Hua-chu Kao downplayed the accuracy of all the leaks, especially those that mentioned Taiwan. He cited specifically a leak in which the U.S. allegedly asked Taiwan to sell SuperCobra AH-1W helicopters to Turkey. Minister Kao said it was the first time he had ever heard of such a deal, saying that Taiwan's own defense requirements would never have made the deal possible. Taiwan's military set up a "WikiLeaks Group" to verify leaked cables.
Africa Tunisia Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamel Morjane said that "these leaks will have no effect whatsoever on the two countries' ties". He added that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed in both media interviews and in a telephone conversation that "the leaked cables were personal views of U.S ambassadors", not official opinions. He said that the cables detailing Tunisia's internal affairs were "baseless and do not mirror Tunisia's reality." Morjane questioned the believability of the cables.Staff writer (9 December 2010). "Foreign Minister Issues Clarifications on Wikileaks Cables" . Tunis Afrique Presse (via Tunisia Online News). Retrieved 19 December 2010.
Europe Austria Stefan Hirsch, Speaker of Austrian Minister of Defence Norbert Darabos, said that he wanted clarification from the U.S. ambassador regarding comments in the cables that Darabos did not care about foreign-military interventions.
Finland Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb said "the information shared between diplomats and their host countries is important and confidential, and although it is not illegal to have this information, leaking it outside the inner circles where it was meant to stay is irresponsible".
Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi laughed off the alleged content of the documents, and said: "I don't care what low-level officials say." Foreign Minister Franco Frattini described the leaks as the "September 11 of world diplomacy."
Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that "Rumour goes that [the] Americans messaged themselves with regret that we negotiate too firmly, but if it is really in this correspondence, it's rather as [a] compliment than flashpoint".
Russia Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin warned the U.S., "Don't poke your noses into our affairs" after the release of materials. Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov called the revelations an "entertaining read", but said "on practical policy making we will take into consideration the deeds of our partners". Putin, on the other hand, said that the cables which described him as an "alpha-dog" "Batman" and President Dmitry Medvedev as "Robin" were "slanderous". Head of Russia's foreign intelligence service (SVR) Mikhail Fradkov said that he would ask his department to study the cables relating to Russia. On 9 December 2010, President Medvedev's office released a statement praising WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange and said that Assange should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Netherlands Foreign Affairs Minister Uri Rosenthal said "We do not know what the contents of the documents are, it would be guesswork. It could be that they contain names of Dutch politicians. We will wait patiently, but [will] remain alert".
United Kingdom A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said that "We condemn any unauthorised release of this classified information, just as we condemn leaks of classified material in the UK ... they can damage national security, are not in the national interest and ... may put lives at risk".
Vatican City The Vatican has called the cables' descriptions of its internal affairs as a matter of "extreme seriousness". The Vatican said that the cables "reflect the perceptions and opinions of the people who wrote them and cannot be considered as expressions of the Holy See itself".Kington, Tom (12 December 2010). "Vatican Reaction to WikiLeaks Claim — US Embassy Cables, Critical of an Out of Touch Vatican Leadership, Were Described as 'Potentially Unreliable'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
North America Canada Lawrence Cannon, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, condemned the leak, saying, "Irresponsible leaks like these are deplorable and do not serve anybody's national interests. The perpetrators of these leaks may threaten our national security." Cannon stated that the leaks will not harm Canada's relationship with the U.S., saying, "I do find it deplorable that documents like this are leaked in this fashion, but I want to reassure everybody that I don't think this is going to change the strong relationship that we have with the United States."
Jamaica Dwight Nelson, Jamaican Minister of National Security, stated that Cuban concerns about Jamaican drug trafficking reported in a leaked diplomatic cable — dated 11 August 2009 by Jonathan Farrar, the chief of mission at the United States Interests Section in Havana — were "absolute rubbish".Staff writer (15 December 2010). "Cuba Thought Jamaica Soft on Drug Trafficking — WikiLeaks Cable". Stabroek News. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
Mexico The Mexican President, Felipe Calderón said that United States diplomatic cables criticising Mexico's anti-drug fight had caused "severe damage" to its relationship with the United States and suggested tensions had risen so dramatically that he could no longer work with the American ambassador in his country. The result was the resignation of Ambassador Carlos Pascual on 19 March 2011.
United States The White House issued a statement saying the leak "puts at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals, and people around the world who come to the United States for assistance in promoting democracy and open government". Hillary Clinton, representing the U.S. State Department, said, "This disclosure is not just an attack on America's foreign policy interests ... it is an attack on the international community: the alliances and partnerships, the conversations and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity ... It puts people's lives in danger, threatens our national security and undermines our efforts to work with other countries to solve shared problems."Jackson, David (29 November 2010). "Obama Aides Condemn WikiLeaks; Obama Orders Review". USA Today. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
Clinton condemned the WikiLeaks release of once-classified diplomatic documents as nothing less than an attack on the United States and its allies. 'This disclosure is not just an attack on America's foreign policy interests', Clinton said, 'it is an attack on the international community: the alliances and partnerships, the conversations and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity'. Clinton added: 'It puts people's lives in danger, threatens our national security and undermines our efforts to work with other countries to solve shared problems.'
On 3 January 2011, the US Presidential Executive Office issued a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies asking whether they have an "insider threat program", and whether they use psychiatrists and sociologists "to measure relative happiness as a means to gauge trustworthiness" and "despondence and grumpiness as a means to gauge waning trustworthiness".
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