US President Donald Trump said he considers Russian leader Vladimir Putin a “tough nut“.
“He definitely is, in that sense my opinion of him hasn't changed“, the White House chief of staff said in an interview with Newsmax.
Trump did not rule out the possibility of talking to Putin before the 10-day deadline he set for resolving the conflict in Ukraine expires. “Well, we'll see. We'll have some meetings. And we'll see what happens next," the US president told reporters on the White House lawn.
The Russian leadership is doing well with the sanctions, but the US will still be prepared to impose new restrictions, Trump told Newsmax.
The American leader was asked what he would do if an agreement on Ukraine could not be reached within the allotted 10 days. "We will impose sanctions. Putin is very good at dealing with sanctions, he knows how to get around them," Trump replied.
He again called what was happening in Ukraine "Biden's war" and added that he would not have allowed this conflict to happen if he had remained in power for a second term. "There is no doubt about it. "I got along well with Putin," he noted.
Trump confirmed that two US nuclear submarines were closer to Russia, but did not specify their location.
On August 1, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had ordered the redeployment of two US nuclear submarines "to the relevant regions" due to statements by Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev. Trump claimed that Medvedev had made "extremely provocative statements." "Yes, the submarines are closer to Russia," he said. "We always want to be prepared, so I sent two nuclear submarines to the region."
Trump added that his actions were "to make sure that Medvedev's words were just words, nothing more."
"We just have to be careful. There was a threat made, and we didn't think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful. I'm doing this for the safety of our people. The former president of Russia made a threat, and we will protect our people," Trump said.
"You just have to read what he said. When they talk about nuclear issues, we have to be prepared." And we are fully prepared“, the president added.
The US president said that India will stop buying oil from Russia in order to make a trade deal with the US.
“As far as I understand, India will no longer buy oil from Russia. That's what I heard. I don't know if that's true or not“, he told reporters, commenting on trade talks between Washington and New Delhi.
“This is a good step. We'll see how things develop“, the head of the US administration added.