Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine should be left to “fight for a while,” with other nations leaving them to it.
Mr Trump compared the war to an ice hockey brawl whilst speaking in the Oval Office with his German counterpart Friedrich Merz on Thursday (5 June).
“Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart,” Trump told reporters. “You see it in hockey, you see it in sports.”
The president revealed he shared the analogy with Vladimir Putin during a 75 minute phone call on Wednesday (4 June).
During the Oval Office meeting, the newly elected German chancellor told the president that he wants the US to put more pressure on Russia to end the war, believing them to be in a strong position to do so.