U.S. President Donald Trump plays at his Turnberry resort | Leon Neal/Getty Images Trump: EU is one of United States’ biggest foes Remarks come a day ahead of meeting with Russian president.

The EU is one of the biggest foes of the U.S., President Donald Trump said just ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Trump is currently in Scotland at his Turnberry golf club after spending several days in England, where he succeeded in ruffling feathers with his behavior, from undercutting the U.K. prime minister's delicate position on Brexit, to failing to follow royal protocol during his visit with the queen.

In an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor in Scotland, released on Sunday, Trump was asked to identify his "biggest foe globally right now."

"Well, I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now, you wouldn't think of the European Union, but they're a foe," Trump said.

He also named Russia and China as foes, but added "that doesn't mean they are bad. It doesn't mean anything. It means that they are competitive."

"I respect the leaders of those countries. But, in a trade sense, they've really taken advantage of us and many of those countries are in NATO and they weren't paying their bills," he said.

European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted in response: "America and the EU are best friends. Whoever says we are foes is spreading fake news."