US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (local time) that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would not attack a country that is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), de-emphasising reports that Washington has warned Moscow against a likely strike on its European partners.
“I’ve had good talks with him. He’s not going to be attacking a NATO territory,” the 80-year-old Republican leaders told reporters at the White House when asked about a possible Russian assault on NATO members. “I don’t want to comment on that, but they’re not going to attack.”
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe had made a surprise visit to Moscow earlier this week, with multiple reports claiming that the situation in Europe could escalate and the top official was sent to the Russian capital to warn Kremlin against such a move.
Reports by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), CNN and CBS News said the main aim of Ratcliffe’s Moscow visit was to dissuade Russia against striking a NATO member. They had claimed that the US intelligence has reports of a possible Russian strike on a NATO member, seeking to test the alliance.ย ย
The “limited assault”, as per the WSJ, could take place within a few years as tensions continue to mount over Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly warned the NATO over assisting Ukraine and stressed that the alliance must avoid crossing the red lines.
However, the Russians have also dismissed US media reports, describing them as “scare stories”. “A lot of such scare stories are being published right now. Of course, they have nothing to do with reality,” AFP quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin has also downplayed his meeting with Ratcliffe, saying the two held talks over “a number of issues that fall within the remit of intelligence services”.
“Yes, the meeting did take place, but there is nothing unusual about it,” Naryshkin was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS.
Ratcliffe is the second CIA chief to visit Russia in last five years. Previously, former CIA Director William Burns had visited Russia in November 2021. Three months later after his visit, Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine, which many have described as the worst conflict in Europe since World War II.
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