Donald Trump said Thursday that it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace, even as Germany’s new chancellor appealed to him as the “key person in the world” who could halt the bloodshed by pressuring Vladimir Putin.

In an Oval Office meeting with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump likened the war in Ukraine — which Russia invaded in February 2022 — to a fight between two children who hate each other. Trump said that with children, “sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart,” adding that he relayed the analogy to Putin in a call this week.

The comments were a remarkable detour from Trump’s often-stated appeals to stop the violence in Ukraine — and he again denounced the bloodshed Thursday even as he floated the possibility that the two countries should continue the war for a time. Merz carefully sidestepped Trump’s assertions and emphasized that the U.S. and Germany both agree on “how terrible this war is,” while making sure to lay blame squarely on Putin for the violence and make the point that Germany was siding with Ukraine.