"Not concerned at all": Trump responds to possible Russian attack on NATO
US President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about a possible Russian attack on NATO countries. At the same time, he denied reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe had allegedly warned the Russian leadership during a visit to Moscow against provocations targeting Alliance members.
According to Censor.NET, he said this in a telephone interview with Axios on Thursday.
"I’m not concerned at all... There’s no problem whatsoever," Trump said when asked about a possible Russian provocation against NATO countries.
Axios noted that Trump was asked the question amid concerns among European leaders that Moscow could test NATO’s resolve and Trump’s commitment to Article 5, the Alliance’s collective defence provision through a limited attack or other military provocations. The question also came amid CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow, where he met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryshkin. Several media outlets reported that the visit was an attempt to warn Moscow against attacking a NATO country. Trump, however, denied these reports. He described Ratcliffe’s trip as "routine business" and expressed surprise at the media coverage surrounding it.
"Ratcliffe sees his Russian counterpart once every six months or once a year. They have a very good relationship. There were no messages and nothing unusual," Trump said.
According to the outlet, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Naryshkin confirmed on Thursday that he had met with Ratcliffe during the latter’s visit to Moscow. He said the talks were "a routine part of their work" and that "there was nothing unusual".
Naryshkin said he had discussed "intelligence matters" with Ratcliffe.
Axios noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the outlet in July that Putin was planning a mass mobilisation of 500,000 military personnel in the coming months to renew Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Russia was also building infrastructure for an additional 30,000 North Korean troops who would be sent to fight in Ukraine.
In recent weeks, Russian drones that entered the airspace of several NATO members, including Romania and Poland, have been shot down.
On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the United Kingdom and France were "playing with fire" by providing Ukraine with technology enabling long-range strikes deep inside Russia. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson threatened strikes against British military targets in Ukraine and beyond in response to the United Kingdom’s military assistance to Ukraine.
