CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly travelled to Moscow this week\ncarrying a number of important messages for Russia. One of them was a\nwarning to President Vladimir Putin not to attack NATO territory.<\/p>\n
Two sources familiar with the matter said Ratcliffe also used the\nvisit to urge Moscow to halt its economic and military support for Iran.\nThe move came as the administration of US President Donald Trump sought\nto pressure Tehran financially.<\/p>\n
Ratcliffe\u2019s visit was the first known trip by a senior Trump\nadministration official to Moscow in several months. The journey took\nplace amid concerns in the US and Europe that Putin could test NATO\u2019s\ncommitment through a limited attack on one of the alliance\u2019s member\nstates.<\/p>\n
Trump himself played down the possibility of Russia attacking NATO.\n\u201cI have had good talks with him. He will not attack NATO territory,\u201d\nTrump said at the White House on Thursday (27\/8\/2026), as quoted by CNN\nInternational.<\/p>\n
Asked whether Ratcliffe had conveyed the warning to Putin, Trump\ndeclined to answer directly. \u201cI don\u2019t want to comment on that, but they\nwill not attack,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trump had earlier described Ratcliffe\u2019s trip to Moscow as a \u201cvery\nsemi-routine\u201d visit. \u201cWe want to see the war with Ukraine end,\u201d Trump\nsaid in a radio interview.<\/p>\n
US and Western intelligence assessments have previously estimated\nthat Russia could attempt to test NATO\u2019s resolve in the coming years,\nranging from cyber attacks to limited military strikes. The Baltic\nstates of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Poland, have been\nidentified as potential targets.<\/p>\n
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ratcliffe did not meet Putin\nduring his visit. According to Peskov, Ratcliffe\u2019s contacts with Russia\ntook place \u201cmore or less at the level of the special services\u201d, which he\nviewed positively, although it was too early to assess whether the visit\nwould help improve US-Russia relations, which are currently in a state\nof crisis.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cia-chief-makes-surprise-visit-to-moscow-putin-warned-over-nato-1787903459", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }