Trump says Putin does not plan to attack NATO
Translated from Lithuanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
- U.S. President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin does not plan to attack NATO territory, while declining to comment in detail on a bomb-carrying drone found at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
- Germany accused Russia of attempting an attack at the airport and announced sanctions, including plans to close Russia’s consulate general in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin.
- Russia rejected the accusations, while the European Union prepared additional sanctions and several member states summoned Russian diplomats.
Donald Trump says he still sees no danger of Russia attacking NATO, even after Germany accused Moscow of trying to stage an attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
“We communicate, I know him very well. Vladimir Putin does not plan to attack NATO territory,” Trump said when asked whether the discovery of a drone carrying explosives at the airport pointed to such an assault. He did not discuss the issue in greater detail.
We communicate, I know him very well. Vladimir Putin does not plan to attack NATO territory.
The drone, fitted with explosives and a detonator, was found in early August inside the airport’s security area, between Ukrainian cargo planes. Germany’s government accused Russia of attempting the attack at the start of the week and announced sanctions. The measures are expected to include the closure of Russia’s consulate general in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin. Several European Union countries then summoned Russian diplomats, while the EU prepared further sanctions.
Russia has rejected the accusations. President Vladimir Putin called Berlin’s measures a “mistake” and accused the German government of acting for domestic political reasons. Trump made similar comments at the end of August, after CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unexpected visit to Moscow. The Wall Street Journal and Politico had reported that Ratcliffe warned the Kremlin about an attack on NATO allies, although Germany had not yet formally blamed Russia for the Leipzig incident at that time.
mistake
Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.