U.S. President Donald Trump promised during the NATO summit in The Hague that Russia would never attack the alliance while he is in office, the Washington Post reported on June 26, citing three unnamed European officials.
Speaking at a briefing in The Hague a day earlier, Trump, however, did not rule out that Russia has territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine.
"It's possible," he said.
Still, the U.S. president immediately downplayed Moscow's threat and aggression against Ukraine, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin was "misguided."
Foreign officials and EU diplomats have increasingly called for the preparation for a potential full-scale conflict between NATO and Russia.
Trump's remarks came days after President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine's intelligence has proof that Russia is preparing new military operations in Europe and just a week after Putin declared "all of Ukraine is ours."
During the summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on alliance members to be realistic about the threats posed by Russia and China. Previously, he warned that Russia could be ready to launch an attack against the alliance within five years.
Amid rising threats from Russia, NATO member states have agreed to a new defense spending benchmark, committing to allocate 5% of their gross domestic product annually to defense and security-related expenditures by 2035.
In early June, German intelligence chief Bruno Kahl said Russia may try to test NATO’s unity with provocations beyond Ukraine, as some Russian officials believe that the alliance's collective defense principle no longer works.
Chris York
(Updated: )
