Trump Says Putin Will Not Attack NATO Territory
United States (US) President Donald Trump has asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘will not attack’ NATO alliance territory. Trump’s assertion brushed aside media reports suggesting Washington is concerned about a possible move by Moscow against Europe.
‘I have had good talks with him (Putin). He will not attack NATO territory,’ Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, as reported by AFP on Friday (28/8/2026).
Trump’s assertion came in response to a reporter’s question about whether the Russian President had agreed not to launch an attack on NATO.
It was delivered two days after US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe flew to Moscow, the Russian capital, for impromptu talks with Russian officials, reportedly aimed at warning Moscow not to attack the NATO alliance.
Reports by leading US media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and CBC News, said Ratcliffe was seeking to prevent Russia from attacking NATO amid US intelligence assessments that Moscow may intend to test the military alliance as tensions rise over the Ukraine war.
The WSJ reported that Putin could test NATO through a ‘limited attack’ within the next few years.
Asked to confirm media reports about Ratcliffe’s quiet visit to Moscow, Trump replied: ‘I don’t want to comment on that, but they will not attack.’
Ratcliffe’s visit was the first by a CIA Director to the Russian capital since 2021.
Trump himself last spoke by telephone with Putin in June. The last face-to-face meeting between the two leaders took place a year ago, at a summit in Alaska that failed to produce a breakthrough on the Ukraine issue.
In remarks to reporters, Trump also sought to play down the possibility of sanctions on Russia for trading with Iran, which was hit with fresh sanctions in the latest ‘Economic D-Day’ operation if it refuses to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump, when announcing the latest US economic operation against Iran recently, also warned that countries supporting Tehran would feel the consequences as well.
‘So far, I think Russia has been quite good on the Strait of Hormuz issue,’ the US President said.