In an interview with Newsmax, US President Donald Trump responded to a question about whether his opinion of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had changed over the past few months.

“Obviously, he's a tough nut to crack, so it hasn't changed in that sense. But I'm surprised. We've had a lot of good conversations where we could have ended this, and suddenly bombs are flying,” Trump said.

He also commented on recent statements by Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, who threatened the US with war and demanded that the US not speak to Russia in the “language of ultimatums,” which later turned into a public debate between the two politicians.

"Well, the former president of Russia, who now heads one of the most important councils, Medvedev, said some very bad things about nuclear weapons. And when you mention the word ‘nuclear,’ you know, my eyes light up, and I say, ‘We better be careful,’ because that's the main threat,“ Trump said.

”He shouldn't have said that. He has no bones in his tongue. He's said things like that in the past. And that's why we always want to be ready. And that's why I sent two nuclear submarines to the region. I just want to make sure that his words are just words and nothing more,“ Trump said, adding that the submarines are now ”close to Russia."