‘Disappointed in him, but not done with him’, Trump says of Putin as he offers his backing to Nato
On Putin, Trump said he thought he had a deal with him on Ukraine “four times.”
“I’m disappointed in him, but I’m not done with him, but I’m disappointed in him.
We had a deal done four times and then you go home and you see just attacked a nursing home in Kyiv. And so what the hell was that all about?”
Asked if he trusted him, he said:
I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you.
Trump also said he strongly supported Nato, saying that “Nato is now becoming the opposite of” being obsolete, as he once said.
He added it was “very unfair because the United States paid for almost 100% of it, but now they are paying their own bills.”
Asked if he believes in Nato’s fundamental Article 5 on collective defence, he said:
Yeah, I think collective defence is fine.
Trump also spoke on how his relationship with European leaders changed over the years, saying “it’s maybe not all luck; it’s like when you do it twice, it’s a big difference.”
“Over the years, they’ve gotten to know me.
This is not an easy crowd to break into. You understand, these are smart people heading up very, very successful generally, countries, you know, they’re all Germany and France, Spain and, you know, big countries.
And you know, I’ve gotten to know them, and I think they’ve come to respect my, respect me and my decision making.”
Key events
EU sanctions needed to ‘take momentum’ from Trump’s decision forward, push Russia more, Danish minister says
Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen also talked to reporters on his arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
He said he wasn’t sure about getting a political agreement on the 18th package of sanctions today, “but if it’s not today, then I hope it will be tomorrow.”
He said it was important “to take the momentum created also by Trump’s new messages yesterday” to put more pressure on Russia and the use of sanctions.
“I have long been advocating for a more transatlantic approach. We should push the Russian economy much more so I think one of the key element in the sanction package is the lowering of the oil price gap.”
He said there is no consensus so far, with three countries pushing against.
“Whether it will be during the meeting today or later today or tomorrow, I can’t foresee for sure, but I’m very, very optimistic, and I think it’s now time … really, to push Putin too the negotiating table,” he said.
On the US-Nato deal, he confirmed Denmark would be prepared to participate in the deal, but “need others to partner up.”
He repeated that Trump’s new messaging was “very, very important.”
EU’s Kallas welcomes US military deal with Nato, hopes new Russia sanctions will be adopted ‘today or tomorrow’
Over in Brussels, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas set out her expectations for today’s meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
She said the news from the US was “really welcome” and she hoped the bloc would follow it up with striking a political agreement on the 18th package of sanctions against Russia “either today or tomorrow.”
We are very, very close.
On US military deal with Nato, she said:
“It is … good signs that we see from United States that they have also realised that Russia does not really want peace. So in order to have peace, we need to support Ukraine, and we need to put the pressure on Russia.”
She also said the ministers will talk about the Middle East and Gaza, stressing that “we have reached a common understanding with Israel to really improve the situation on the ground.”
“So we see some positive signs when it comes to border crossings open. We see some positive signs of them reconstructing the electricity lines, providing water, also more trucks of humanitarian aid coming in.
But of course, we need to see more in order to see real improvement for the people on the ground.”
She later said the situation was “very bad” and “catastrophic,” saying
The ministers will also talk about Iran and Georgia.
“There are all options on the table, including suspension of the visa fee regime and other elements that could make to the Georgian government to change the calculus.”
Brexit ‘sloppy’ but getting ‘straightened out’ by Starmer, Trump says
Trump was also asked about his views on Britain, saying the implementation of Brexit “has been on the sloppy side, but I think it’s getting straightened out.”
“I really like the prime minister a lot, even though he is a liberal,” he said of Keir Starmer.
He also said he was “looking forward” to his state visit in Britain in September, saying his focus was on having great time and showing respect to King Charles III.
Trump also said he believed the UK would support the US “if we had a war,” hailing the special relationship between the two countries.
“I’m not sure that a lot of the other countries would be [fighting for the US], which is unfair, because we pay far more than anybody else.”
He ends by saying he wants America to be a “great country, and it was a dead country one year ago,” and that’s it.
‘Disappointed in him, but not done with him’, Trump says of Putin as he offers his backing to Nato
On Putin, Trump said he thought he had a deal with him on Ukraine “four times.”
“I’m disappointed in him, but I’m not done with him, but I’m disappointed in him.
We had a deal done four times and then you go home and you see just attacked a nursing home in Kyiv. And so what the hell was that all about?”
Asked if he trusted him, he said:
I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you.
Trump also said he strongly supported Nato, saying that “Nato is now becoming the opposite of” being obsolete, as he once said.
He added it was “very unfair because the United States paid for almost 100% of it, but now they are paying their own bills.”
Asked if he believes in Nato’s fundamental Article 5 on collective defence, he said:
Yeah, I think collective defence is fine.
Trump also spoke on how his relationship with European leaders changed over the years, saying “it’s maybe not all luck; it’s like when you do it twice, it’s a big difference.”
“Over the years, they’ve gotten to know me.
This is not an easy crowd to break into. You understand, these are smart people heading up very, very successful generally, countries, you know, they’re all Germany and France, Spain and, you know, big countries.
And you know, I’ve gotten to know them, and I think they’ve come to respect my, respect me and my decision making.”
‘Like to think about it as little as possible,’ Trump tells BBC of assassination attempt last year
Trump spoke last night with the BBC’s Gary O’Donoghue in a longer phone interview, just broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
They just played the entire interview on air, so let me bring you the key quotes.
Asked about last year’s assassination attempt, he said:
Well, I like to think about it as little as possible.
Asked about his first reaction to the attack, he said:
“We had 55,000 people, and it was dead silence. And so, you know, I assumed that they expected the worst, yes, and so I had to let them know I was okay, which is what I did.”
Morning opening: ‘Disappointed, but not done’
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump said he was “disappointed, but not done” with Russian president Vladimir Putin, hours after he announced a military deal with Nato countries to arm Ukraine.
His announcement, alongside Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, was rather short on detail, but marked an important change in tone from Washington.
But Moscow does not seem to be particularly impressed, with former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev saying it simply “didn’t care” about his threats on arms or sanctions.
“Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences,” Medvedev wrote on X.
He added:
Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care.
We should hear more European reactions throughout the day as EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels for more talks on Ukraine, the Middle East, and other issues.
I will bring you all the latest.
It’s Tuesday, 15 July 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
