President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about a potential Russian attack on a NATO member, stating that President Vladimir Putin “is not going to be attacking” the alliance. His comments come amid increased scrutiny of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s recent trip to Moscow.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, Trump was asked whether Putin had agreed not to target NATO territory. Trump responded, “I’ve had good talks with him. He’s not going to be attacking a NATO territory.”
Pressed on reports that Ratcliffe warned Russian officials against attacking a NATO country during his visit, Trump said, “I don’t want to comment on that, but they’re not going to attack.”
Trump downplays Ratcliffe’s Moscow visit
Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow earlier this week for talks with Russian intelligence officials. Such a senior U.S. official has rarely visited since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Trump described the trip as routine. In comments to Axios, he said, “Ratcliffe sees his Russian counterpart once every six months or once every year. They have a very good relationship. There was no message and there was nothing unusual.”
However, Trump’s statements differ from reports regarding the meeting’s discussions.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to warn Russia against attacking a NATO member. Reuters later cited two sources familiar with the meeting who said the possibility of a Russian operation against NATO was discussed, though it was unclear if this was the primary purpose of the trip.
Kremlin calls reports ‘scare stories’
Moscow has also rejected suggestions that Russia is preparing to test NATO. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed these reports during a daily briefing, calling them “scare stories.”
“A lot of such scare stories are being published right now. Of course, they have nothing to do with reality,” Peskov said.
Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin confirmed he met with Ratcliffe but downplayed the significance of their discussion. “Yes, the meeting did take place, but there is nothing unusual about it,” Naryshkin said, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.
He said the two officials discussed matters within “the remit of intelligence services.”
What sparked the NATO concerns?
U.S. and European officials have expressed growing concern that Moscow may attempt to test NATO’s willingness to respond to an attack on one of its members.
A Russian move against NATO would not necessarily mean a full-scale invasion. Western intelligence agencies are monitoring for potential cyberattacks, sabotage, or limited military operations that could test the alliance’s response.
This possibility has drawn particular attention as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict remain stalled. Trump has continued to downplay the prospect of Russia widening the war into NATO territory.
Europe sees no attack being prepared
A senior European Union official also offered a cautious assessment of the situation.
“European services in general do not see any risk of an attack from Russia to the European countries, and this assessment has not changed,” the official said.
She added, “When it comes to any threat to European NATO members, we see no assessment of any of that being under preparation now.”
At the White House on Thursday, Trump was also asked whether Russia could face penalties for its trade with Iran following his administration’s announcement of an “economic D-Day.” He replied, “Well, it depends. So far, I think Russia’s behaved quite well, having to do with the Strait of Hormuz.”
