‘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
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EU continues talking to US on trade, technical teams on way to Washington
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Ukrainians hail Melania Trump for challenging husband’s faith in Putin
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Trump’s statements on deal with Nato, Ukraine ‘serious, require analysis,’ Kremlin says
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Polish, Hungarian astronauts return to Earth as part of Axiom mission
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Trump asked Zelenskyy if Ukraine could strike Moscow, St Petersburg, FT reports
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Embattled French PM set to present outline of 2026 budget
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EU, US alignment on Russia means Putin has to face reality, French foreign minister says
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‘Put this agreement into action, stop killing people,’ EU crisis commissioner says on Gaza and Israel
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Crew rescued from Frontex’s boat after incident near Lesbos
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Good to see Europe, US convergence on approach to Russia, Dutch foreign minister says
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EU sanctions needed to ‘take momentum’ from Trump’s decision forward, push Russia more, Danish minister says
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EU’s Kallas welcomes US military deal with Nato, hopes new Russia sanctions will be adopted ‘today or tomorrow’
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Brexit ‘sloppy’ but getting ‘straightened out’ by Starmer, Trump says
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‘Disappointed in him, but not done with him’, Trump says of Putin as he offers his backing to Nato
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‘Like to think about it as little as possible,’ Trump tells BBC of assassination attempt last year
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Morning opening: ‘Disappointed, but not done’
EU continues talking to US on trade, technical teams on way to Washington
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič spoke with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick last night, and will speak with US trade representative Jamieson Greer later tonight, an EU spokesperson said.
EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill also confirmed that EU technical teams “are on their way to Washington DC as we speak” for further talks, but he refused to speculate about the outcome of the process.
He said:
“I will not going to go into any greater level of detail concerning the negotiations with the US, because, as we all are very well aware, we are in the most sensitive stage of those negotiations right now, working towards getting an agreement in principle over the line before the deadline set by the US of 1 August.”
Ukrainians hail Melania Trump for challenging husband’s faith in Putin
Luke Harding
in Kyiv and Artem Mazhulin
Ukrainians are celebrating Melania Trump on social media in a series of memes, after Donald Trump suggested the first lady played a part in his apparent change of heart over Russia.
Speaking at a meeting in the White House on Monday with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, Trump said his wife had played a key role in pointing out Vladimir Putin’s duplicity.
“My conversations with him [Putin] are always very pleasant. I say, isn’t that a very lovely conversation? And then the missiles go off that night,” Trump said.
“I go home, I tell the first lady: I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. She said: Really? Another city was just hit.”
Slovenian-born Melania Trump, who grew up in the former Yugoslavia, has previously appeared to be a bigger supporter of Ukraine than the sceptical US president, who in February this year called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator.
Shortly after the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion, she appealed to her social media followers to donate to the Red Cross, saying it was “heartbreaking and horrific to see innocent people suffering”.
After Trump’s Oval Office comments on Monday, one social media user posted a photo of “Agent Melania Trumpenko” wearing a blazer with a Ukrainian trident insignia. Her face is half-shaded with a big hat, giving the impression she is working undercover inside the White House, to Kyiv’s benefit.
Trump’s statements on deal with Nato, Ukraine ‘serious, require analysis,’ Kremlin says
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow was ready to negotiate with the US after Trump’s comments last night, but added it didn’t want to bow to any ultimatums, Reuters reported.
Separately, the Kremlin said that Trump’s statements were “serious and required analysis.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said president Vladimir Putin will comment on Trump’s proposals if he deems it necessary to do so.
Polish, Hungarian astronauts return to Earth as part of Axiom mission
Elsewhere, Polish and Hungarian astronauts returned from the International Space Station on Tuesday, after a Crew Dragon capsule carrying them alongside two crewmates landed safely back on Earth off the coast of California.
Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary spent 18 days aboard the ISS running research experiments in microgravity.
They were part of a private space mission organised by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, led by former Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson and with India’s Shubhanshu Shukla as the third crewmate.
“SpaceX copy, splashdown, and stable one. On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” they were told by mission control.
“Happy to be back,” replied Whitson.
Reuters noted that for India, Poland and Hungary, the launch marked the first human spaceflight in more than 40 years and the first mission ever to send astronauts from their government’s respective space programs to the ISS.
Trump asked Zelenskyy if Ukraine could strike Moscow, St Petersburg, FT reports
In the meantime, there’s a strong news line emerging from the Financial Times (£) reporting that US president Donald Trump has allegedly encouraged Ukraine to consider strikes deeper into Russia, and asked Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he could target Moscow if given long-range weapons by the US.
Quoting “people briefed on the discussions” and the leaders’ call on 4 July, the paper reported that Trump wanted Russians to “feel the pain” and asked Zelenskyy “can you hit Moscow? … can you hit St Petersburg too?”
The paper reported that Zelenskyy replied:
Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.
The FT said the reported exchange “marks a sharp departure from Trump’s previous stance on Russia’s war and his campaign promise to end US involvement in foreign conflicts.”
During last week’s interview with NBC, Trump pointedly spoke about “defensive weapons” for Ukraine to stop the attacks on Ukrainian cities.
(Usual caveats apply for such stories as we could not independently verify the FT’s report.)
Embattled French PM set to present outline of 2026 budget
Jon Henley
France’s prime minister, François Bayrou, is due to present the main outlines of his proposed 2026 budget this afternoon, laying out just how he plans to cut a massive €40bn of government and social security spending next year.
The timing is far from accidental: MPs are on holiday and there will be no debate on the plans – which is probably just as well because when it comes in October, it will be heated and, in the view of many, could well topple Bayrou’s minority government.
“It’s very simple: we drop a few bombshells, MPs jump up and down for 24 hours, and then everyone leaves Paris,” an MP from president Emmanuel Macron’s camp told BFMTV. The government is giving itself, in effect, three month’s breathing space.
The objective, under heavy pressure from the European Commission and financial markets, is to reduce France’s ballooning deficit to 4.6% of GDP next year, which the centrist prime minister reportedly hopes to achieve by freezing or cutting specific budgets, taxing better-off retirees more, and reducing some public services.
Macron, however, added to the difficulty of an already unenviable task, calling on Sunday for a significant €3.5bn increase in defence spending to be found – without any additional borrowing.
Bayrou’s government does not have a majority in parliament and will need the support of both the far-right National Rally (RN) and the centre-left Socialist Party (PS) if it is to stand any chance of passing a budget bill in the autumn. Both have already promised not to lend it their support without significant concessions.
“Our red line will be anything that demands that the French people contribute more than the efforts they are already making morning, noon and night,” said Sébastien Chenu, a RN MP, on Tuesday. “Regardless of their category – workers, retirees, young people, civil servants – if he asks for more, we will say no.”
After setting out his stall this afternoon, Bayrou will make intensive use of the summer months to try to win over as many opposition MPs as possible with potential concessions – his only chance, many experts believe, of avoiding the fate of his predecessor Michel Barnier, who lost a no confidence vote on his proposed austerity budget after just three months in office.
Jakub Krupa
And since we are on France, let’s go to Jon Henley in Paris to explain what’s going to happen in domestic French politics later today…
EU, US alignment on Russia means Putin has to face reality, French foreign minister says
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters that he hoped the new language from the US and more sanctions from the EU will force Russian president Vladimir Putin “to face the facts: he has gone too far and he is now at an impasse.”
He said he was hoping for more alignment between the US and the EU on sanctions, as he met with American senators last week in Rome to discuss their proposed bipartisan bill on Russia.
He urged other EU leaders to adopt the 18th sanctions package today to keep the momentum after Trump’s announcement last night in a bid to “apply very strong pressure on Vladimir Putin.”
‘Put this agreement into action, stop killing people,’ EU crisis commissioner says on Gaza and Israel
Arriving at the meeting with foreign ministers in Brussels, EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib criticised Israel for not implementing the deal on humanitarian aid struck with the EU last week quickly enough.
She said that five days on, “the situation is that this agreement is far from fully implemented.”
She said:
“So we have some progress. We have some positive developments. It’s true that we have trucks that are able to enter, but we don’t know exactly how many.
And what is clear is that the agreement is not fully implemented.
And so my request, my message to the authority, Israeli authorities, is very clear: put this agreement into action, now stop killing the people. We need humanitarian aid, food, water, fuel to reach the people in need.”
She then added:
“There are some openings. But as you know, last weekend, for instance, more than 100 people died, mainly children and women, while waiting for food and water distribution. This is the reality that we are facing on the ground.”
But she declines to talk about sanctions, as says that’s up to EU’s Kallas and ministers.
Crew rescued from Frontex’s boat after incident near Lesbos
Lisa O’Carroll
Five Portuguese crew and a Greek liaison officer on a Frontex boat have been rescued after their boat hit a rock while on search and rescue patrol near the island of Lesbos, a popular entry point for people trying to enter the EU without papers.
Frontex, the EU agency responsible for assisting countries in policing external borders, said:
“On Monday afternoon, a coastal patrol boat operated by the Portuguese Maritime Police, taking part in Frontex’s Joint Operation in Greece, sank off the coast of Lesvos during a search and rescue mission involving irregular migrants.”
“All were rescued safely and are in good physical condition,” it said.
Good to see Europe, US convergence on approach to Russia, Dutch foreign minister says
Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp also said the country was “looking into” the US-Nato deal announced by Trump “with a positive inclination.”
“The Netherlands already does a lot, including on air defence, from patriots missile systems, missile batteries, to F-16 … up to 1.4 billion in drone cooperation between the Netherlands and Ukraine, up to radar systems against incoming drones.
We will look into what we can do also in relation to Mr Trump’s announcements, and take it from there.”
Asked for a comment on Trump’s statement last night, he said:
I’m very glad that there’s convergence between Europe and the US on this matter.
But he added:
“I do believe that 50 days that Mr Trump has announced is rather long, that’s up to 2 September. I think that’s rather long. But I do appreciate that they really see that Putin is dragging his feet and that we need to ramp up the pressure on Russia.”
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.