United States President Donald Trump has said he is “disappointed” in Russian President Vladimir Putin but is not ready to sever ties with the Kremlin leader.

He made the remarks during an exclusive 20-minute phone interview with the BBC, conducted to mark the first anniversary of the assassination attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

When asked directly if he still trusts Putin, Trump responded bluntly: “I trust almost nobody.”

The U.S. president’s comments came just hours after he announced a new package of weapons for Ukraine and threatened sweeping tariffs on Russia if a ceasefire deal is not reached within 50 days.

According to the BBC, Trump revealed that he had believed on four separate occasions that he was close to brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, only to be blindsided each time.

“We’ll have a great conversation. I’ll say: ‘That’s good, I think we’re close to getting it done,’ and then he’ll knock down a building in Kyiv,” Trump said.

The interview touched on a wide range of issues including Trump’s evolving view on NATO. Despite once calling the alliance “obsolete”, the president now says NATO is proving its relevance.

He praised European members for increasing defence spending to 5% of GDP, calling the development “amazing”.

“I still believe in collective defence,” Trump added, emphasising that smaller countries must be protected from larger aggressors.

The BBC also asked Trump whether surviving the 2024 assassination attempt had changed him. The president replied: “I don’t like to think about if it did change me dwelling on it could be life-changing.”

On the UK, Trump expressed admiration for new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, saying: “I really like the prime minister a lot, even though he is a liberal.”

He admitted the UK hadn’t made the most of Brexit, describing its post-Brexit trajectory as “on the sloppy side”, though he believes it’s improving.

Trump also confirmed plans for a second state visit to the UK in September. When asked about delivering a speech to Parliament, he said he had no intention of disrupting lawmakers during recess: “Let them go and have a good time.”

Touching briefly on King Charles’s recent remarks on Canadian sovereignty, Trump dismissed the notion of conflict. “He has no choice,” Trump said, calling the monarch “very respectful.”

On immigration, Trump said his administration had surpassed expectations in curbing illegal crossings at the southern border.

“I’ve done actually more than the promises I made,” he claimed, adding that deportations of undocumented migrants, particularly criminals, were now the priority. He referenced a controversial deal with El Salvador as part of these efforts.