
Trump is 'disappointed but not done' with Putin
Trump told the BBC he thought a Ukraine deal was on the cards with Russia four different times.
Asked then by the BBC was he done with Putin, Trump said: "I'm disappointed in him , but I'm not done with him. But I'm disappointed in him."
Pressed on how Trump would get Putin to "stop the bloodshed", the US president said: "We're working it."
"We'll have a great conversation. I'll say: 'That's good, I'll think we're close to getting it done,' and then he'll knock down a building in Kyiv," Trump told the BBC in an interview published on Tuesday.
Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday and threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports, with a 50-day grace period, unless Russia agreed to a peace deal, a major policy shift brought on by frustration with Moscow's ongoing attacks on its neighbour.
He told reporters on Monday that billions of dollars of US weapons, including the Patriot air defence missiles, would be sent to Ukraine via NATO and that NATO would pay for them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram he had spoken to Trump and "thanked him for his readiness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace".
Zelenskiy held talks with Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg on Monday.
Since returning to the White House promising a quick end to the war, Trump has sought rapprochement with Moscow, speaking several times with Putin.
His administration has pulled back from pro-Ukrainian policies such as backing Kyiv's membership in NATO and demanding Russia withdraw from all Ukrainian territory.
But Putin has yet to accept a proposal from Trump for an unconditional ceasefire, which was quickly endorsed by Kyiv.
Recent days have seen Russia use hundreds of drones to attack Ukrainian cities.
In the BBC interview, Trump expressed renewed support for the NATO alliance.
"I think NATO is now becoming the opposite of that (obsolete)
Trump's comments come as EU countries near an agreement on a new package of sanctions against Russia.
"We hope to reach a political agreement on the 18th sanctions package. We are very, very close. I hope it comes today," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said before a meeting with foreign affairs ministers from the 27 EU countries in Brussels.
Sources told Reuters on Monday that all the elements of the package had been agreed, although one member state still had a reservation about a proposed lower price cap on Russian oil.
The European Commission in June proposed the 18th package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, aimed at Moscow's energy revenue, its banks and its military industry.
The new package proposes banning transactions with Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines, as well as banks that engage in sanctions circumvention and a lower price cap on Russian oil.

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