Trump Says Putin Has No Intention of Attacking NATO

US President Donald Trump told reporters at a briefing on Friday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has no intention of attacking NATO territory. The remark came after a journalist reminded Trump of his earlier pledge that Russia would not dare to attack the alliance as long as he remained in power.

«I don't think Putin is going to… I talk to him. I know him very well. Putin doesn't want to attack NATO territory,» the American president replied.

Explosive-laden drone in Leipzig

The question was prompted by an incident at Leipzig Airport, where in early August a drone loaded with explosives was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane carrying ammunition. According to German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, the Kremlin was behind the attack, while — as is typical in Russia's hybrid operations of this kind — low-level agents were used to carry it out.

Worrying signals from Moscow

Tense relations between Russia and Germany are not the only reason for concern about a possible escalation between Moscow and NATO. In August, CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced visit to Moscow. According to information that later surfaced in the media, he warned, among other things, of a possible Russian attempt to test NATO's resolve to defend alliance territory in the Baltics.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz