'Not worried at all' — Trump again calls Ratcliffe trip routine

US President Donald Trump waves to reporters from the steps of Air Force One as he departs Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday (local time). [AP]
US President Donald Trump waves to reporters from the steps of Air Force One as he departs Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday (local time). [AP]

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US President Donald Trump said Thursday (local time) that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not attack NATO territory.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump was asked whether CIA Director John Ratcliffe had traveled to Russia to warn Moscow against attacking NATO. "I'd rather not say. But they're not going to attack," Trump said.

When pressed on whether Putin had agreed or pledged not to strike NATO territory, Trump said, "I had a good conversation with him. He's not going to attack NATO territory." The remarks were widely interpreted as an indirect warning to Putin to exercise restraint, framed as a statement of fact rather than a demand.

Article 5 of the NATO treaty enshrines collective defense, requiring member states to respond jointly if any one of them is attacked. Even a low-level provocation against a NATO member would pose a significant political and military burden for Trump, who has been unable to end the Iran war in six months.

In a separate phone interview with Axios, Trump said he was "not worried at all" about the possibility of a Russian invasion of a NATO member state. "Ratcliffe meets his Russian counterpart once a year or every six months. They have a very good relationship," he said, adding that there was "no message" and "nothing unusual" about the visit. Trump characterized the Moscow trip as routine and dismissed concerns about it.

Ratcliffe made an unannounced visit to Moscow on Tuesday, meeting with Russian intelligence officials. US media reported the trip was aimed at pressing Russia to refrain from attacking NATO members and to scale back its support for Iran.

It was the first visit to Moscow by a CIA director under the Trump administration. During the Joe Biden administration, then-CIA Director William Burns traveled to Moscow in November 2021 to warn against an invasion of Ukraine — three months before Russia launched the invasion.


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