President Donald Trump has said that it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace.
In an Oval Office meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Mr Trump likened the war in Ukraine — which Russia invaded in early 2022 — to a fight between two young children who hated each other.
“Sometimes you’re better off letting them a fight for a while and then pulling them apart,” Mr Trump said.
He added that he had relayed that analogy to Russian president Vladimir Putin in their phone conversation on Wednesday.
The US president still left the threat of sanctions on the table. He said sanctions could be imposed for both Ukraine and Russia.
“When I see the moment where it’s not going to stop … we’ll be very, very tough,” Mr Trump said.
Asked about Mr Trump’s comments as the two leaders sat next to each other, Mr Merz stressed that both he and the president agreed “on this war and how terrible this war is going on”, pointing to Mr Trump as the “key person in the world” who would be able to stop the bloodshed.
But Mr Merz also emphasised that Germany “was on the side of Ukraine” and that Kyiv was only attacking military targets, not Russian civilians.
“We are trying to get them stronger,” Mr Merz said of Ukraine.
