U.S. President Donald Trump made clear on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of attacking NATO member states, flatly dismissing circulating reports claiming CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to warn the Kremlin against such an assault. “He’s not going to attack NATO territory,” Trump told reporters during an appearance in the Oval Office at the White House.
In additional remarks made to Axios, Trump reiterated that a Russian military strike against the Atlantic alliance is entirely off the table. The President stressed that the CIA director was not dispatched to the Russian capital to deliver any emergency ultimatum on behalf of the administration, firmly refuting swirling diplomatic rumors. Expanding on the nature of U.S.-Russian intelligence coordination, Trump noted: “Ratcliffe meets with his Russian counterpart once every six months or once a year. They have a very good relationship.”
The President concluded by emphasizing that the recent Moscow meeting was standard intelligence liaison work: “There was no message, and nothing unusual happened,” completely rejecting the dramatic media speculation surrounding the visit.