Donald Trump has threatened to impose sanctions on Ukraine as well as Russia if the two sides fail to reach a peace agreement.
In an Oval Office meeting with Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, Mr Trump likened the war in Ukraine to a fight between two young children in a park.
“Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart,” Mr Trump said.
The president added that he had relayed that analogy to Vladimir Putin in their phone conversation on Wednesday.
Mr Trump also still left the threat of sanctions on the table, saying they could be applied to both sides.
“We’re going to be very tough, whether it’s Russia or anybody else, we’re going to be very tough, that’s a bloodbath that’s going on over there.”
“There’s some bad blood between the two. I have to deal with it and the chancellor has to deal with it, it’s incredible [as] … there’s a great hatred between those two, between those two men, but between the warring parties, great hatred.”
Asked if he would continue supporting Ukraine, he responded: “Yeah…I’m with Ukraine.”
Mr Merz later 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.
The president then insisted he was “not friends” with Putin and pointed to his opposition to the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was championed by Angela Merkel.
“I used to go with Angela and say, “Well, wait a minute, we’re spending all this money to defend you against Russia, and then you’re giving Russia billions of dollars a month. What kind of a deal is that?” he said.
05:45 PM BST
That’s all for today
Thanks for following our live coverage of Friedrich Merz’s Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump.
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Mr Merz started the meeting by providing Mr Trump with the birth certificate of the US president’s grandfather, Frederick Trump
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The meeting quickly moved on to Elon Musk, who has been vociferous in his criticism of Mr Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill
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Mr Trump said he was “very disappointed” by Mr Musk’s criticism and said he was only upset because it removed an incentive for Americans to buy electric vehicles
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Ukraine also dominated the agenda, with Mr Trump likening Moscow and Kyiv to “two children fighting in the park”
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Mr Trump also threatened to impose sanctions on both Russia and Ukraine
05:31 PM BST
Analysis: Merz avoids White House ambush
Slumped in his chair with his legs crossed, Friedrich Merz looked remarkably comfortable in the Oval Office.
And it’s really no surprise. He faced just a handful of questions about trade and defence and avoided confrontations about the far-right AfD.
His most passionate response came during a defence of Ukraine. Moving towards the edge of his seat with his elbows on his knees, he said nations have a “duty” to end the war.
“I think we having the duty to do something on that now, to stop it after three and a half years, which is really terrible.
“Look at the kids, the kids which were kidnapped from Ukraine to Russia.”
Friedrich Merz avoided a pasting by Donald Trump in the Oval Office – AFP
05:30 PM BST
Trump insists he’s ‘not friends’ with Putin
Mr Trump insists he is “not friends” with Putin and points to his opposition to the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline, backed by Mrs Merkel, as proof.
“I used to go with Angela and say, “Well, wait a minute, we’re spending all this money to defend you against Russia, and then you’re giving Russia billions of dollars a month. What kind of a deal is that?”
“The biggest pipeline in the world. Got to go all over Europe, not only to Germany, you know, but then they were branching off all over the Europe. Nobody ever heard of it. Not one person of you heard of it. And I stopped it. It was dead. And then they say, I’m friends with Putin. I got along with him. He respected me. I respected him.”
He then accused Biden of approving Nord Stream 2 in almost the first week he came in.
In fact, the US could only exert political pressure to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The EU was also largely opposed to it but the project went ahead. Olaf Scholz pulled the plug when Putin invaded Ukraine.
05:24 PM BST
Analysis: Musk consumes Merz’s Oval Office meeting
The Oval Office meeting, expected to be the subject of trade and tariffs, has been consumed by questions about Elon Musk.
“He said the most beautiful things about me. He hasn’t said bad things about me, personally, but I’m sure that’ll be next,” Donald Trump said.
It is the first time the US president has addressed the rift with his former doge chief since Mr Musk launched a blistering attack on his big beautiful spending bill.
Mr Trump appears to be refraining from launching a trademark attack of his own. But in the background, Mr Musk’s outbursts have been dismissed as a case of “sour grapes” after he was rebuffed from extending his time in the White House.
05:22 PM BST
Musk responds to Trump criticism
Elon Musk now appears to have hit back at Donald Trump’s criticism in a post on X.
The US president just said Mr Musk only opposed his tax and spending bill because it removes a $7,500 tax incentive for electric vehicle (EV) buyers.
Mr Musk tweeted: “Whatever.
“Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.
“In the entire history of civilisation, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!
“Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill.
“Slim and beautiful is the way.”
Mr Musk later claimed it was “false” to suggest that he had ever read the bill.
05:19 PM BST
Trump compares Russia and Ukraine to ‘two fighting’ children
Mr Merz takes a risk and urges Donald Trump to put pressure on Russia and end the war in Ukraine, in this the 80th year since D-Day.
He said: “Mr. President, this was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship. We know what we owe you, but this is the reason why I’m saying that America is again in a very strong position to do something on this war, and ending this war.
“So let’s talk about what we can do jointly and we are ready to do what we can and you know that we gave support to Ukraine, and that we are looking for more pressure on Russia. The European Union did, and we should talk about that.”
“We will talk about it,” Mr Trump said, “It’s good timing.”
But later the President returns to the theme of sanctions, likening Russia and Ukraine to two fighting children. He vows he will be “very very tough” when he sees the moment the fighting is not going to stop on both Moscow and Kyiv.
“It’s in my brain the deadline,” he said, “We’ll be very, very, very tough. And it could be on both countries to be honest. You know, it takes two to tango, but we’re going to be very tough, whether it’s Russia or anybody else. We’re going to be very tough.”
05:14 PM BST
Trump takes swipe at Merkel over immigration
Donald Trump has wasted no time in taking a swipe at former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led Friedrich Merz’s CDU for 16 years.
He was asked about his travel ban and said: “Frankly, we want to keep bad people out of our country. The Biden administration allowed some horrendous people, and we’re getting them out one by one, and we’re not stopping until we get them out.
“We have 1000s of murderers. I hate to I even hate to say this in front of the chancellor, because you have a little problem too with some of the people that were allowed in this country. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It shouldn’t have happened.
“I told her it shouldn’t have happened, what you did. But you have, you have your own difficulty with that, and we do, and we’re moving them out, and we’re moving them out very strongly, but it can’t come fast enough.”
The key thing here is that Mr Trump recognises that Mr Merz and Ms Merkel were rivals. She sidelined him during her 16 years in power – leading him to leave politics for the world of business before his return.
Donald Trump criticised Angela Merkel, one of Friedrich Merz’s biggest political rivals – AP
05:05 PM BST
Trump addresses Musk criticism
Donald Trump has addressed Elon Musk’s criticism of the president’s “big, beautiful” bill, the most significant legislation of the US president’s second term so far.
Mr Musk, who left the White House last week, launched a blistering attack on the bill in recent days, labelling it the “Debt Slavery Bill”.
Speaking from the Oval Office alongside Mr Merz, Mr Trump said he had a “great relationship” with Mr Musk but said “I don’t know if we will any more”.
Mr Trump went on to say he was “surprised” by Mr Musk’s criticism after he was given a “wonderful send off” at the White House last week.
The US president continued: “I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill…he only developed a problem when we knew we were going to cut the electric vehicle mandate.”
“I’m very disappointed in Elon, I’ve helped him a lot.”
Credit: Reuters
04:59 PM BST
We’re going to have ‘great ties’, Trump tells Merz
Donald Trump has assured visiting Friedrich Merz that the two countries will have strong ties.
“We’re going to have a great relationship with your country,” Mr Trump told Mr Merz at the beginning of the German leader’s White House visit.
Shortly after entering the Oval Office, Mr Merz presented Mr Trump with the birth certificate of the US president’s grandfather, Frederick Trump.
Friedrich Merz holds the birth certificate of Donald Trump’s grandfather during a meeting at the White House – REUTERS
04:49 PM BST
‘So sad’ what’s happening between Russia and Ukraine, says Trump
Donald Trump and Friedrich Merz are now sat side-by-side in the Oval Office.
Mr Trump opened by thanking the German chancellor for visiting the White House, before going on to describe the war in Ukraine as “so sad”.
Asked if he would put more pressure on Putin, Mr Trump said: “I ended Nord Stream 2, nobody else did, and then Biden came in and immediately approved it.
“That’s the largest, essentially the largest pipeline in the world going to Germany and other countries.”
04:42 PM BST
Merz arrives at the White House
Friedrich Merz has arrived at the White House, where he was greeted by Donald Trump.
The two leaders shared a warm handshake before heading inside, not before Mr Trump was asked about his phone call with Chinese premier Xi Jinping.
“It went very well thank you,” the US president shouted at the pack of reporters outside the White House.
Friedrich Merz arrives at the White House, where he was greeted by Donald Trump – AP
04:38 PM BST
Trump invited to China after phone call with Xi
Donald Trump has agreed to visit China after a “very positive” phone call with Chinese premier Xi Jinping, signalling progress in their bitter dispute over tariffs.
Moments before his meeting with Mr Merz, the US president wrote on Truth Social: “I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal.
“The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries.”
You can read more about Mr Trump’s phone call with Xi here.
04:34 PM BST
A history of Trump ambushes
The first White House ambush of Donald Trump’s second term came at the end of February when Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, visited Washington.
The meeting got off to a good start from Ukraine’s point of view but quickly descended into chaos when JD Vance confronted the Ukrainian president and accused him of being “disrespectful”.
Mr Vance accused Mr Zelensky of taking foreign leaders on “propaganda tours” of Ukraine before Mr Trump jumped in and said Mr Zelensky did not “hold the cards”.
The meeting ended without the two sides signing the much-hyped minerals deal and Mr Zelensky was asked to leave the White House early.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump during their disastrous White House meeting in February – AFP
Last month, Mr Trump ambushed Cyril Ramaphosa during their Oval Office meeting with footage he said showed white South Africans being persecuted.
In an extraordinary confrontation, the US president ordered staffers to dim the lights and play a video showcasing what he called a genocide of white farmers in the country.
Turning to Mr Ramaphosa, the South African president, Mr Trump said people “were fleeing” while demanding an “explanation” for what he said was a “very sad situation”.
04:24 PM BST
Merz and Trump building ‘decent’ relationship
The US president and Chancellor Friedrich Merz have spoken several times by phone, either bilaterally or with other European leaders, since Merz took office on May 6.
German officials say the pair have started to build a “decent” relationship, with Mr Merz wanting to avoid the antagonism that defined Trump’s relationship with one of his predecessors, Angela Merkel, during the president’s first term.
Mr Merz arrives at the oval office with an extensive business background – something that could curry favour with the president.
04:16 PM BST
How Merz plans to avoid an Oval Office pasting
No other European leader has criticised Donald Trump as fiercely as Friedrich Merz, Germany’s new chancellor.
On Thursday, the two will come face to face in Washington in what is the biggest test of Mr Merz’s tenure so far.
It means entering the gladiatorial arena of the Oval Office and enduring the impromptu press conferences now dreaded by visiting leaders the world over.
Mr Trump has already ambushed Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Jordan’s King Abdullah II in front of the cameras. But Mr Merz is no pushover.
“When he comes into the room, everyone goes quiet, like when the schoolteacher comes in,” a source from his centre-Right Christian Democrats (CDU) said.
Friedrich Merz will meet Donald Trump for the first time on Thursday
04:10 PM BST
Merz ‘looking forward’ to Trump visit
Friedrich Merz has said he is looking forward to meeting Donald Trump for the first time in person as Germany’s new chancellor.
The 69-year-old conservative won a parliament vote to become Germany’s chancellor last month after winning a federal election in February.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Merz said: “I am looking forward to the visit. We are well-prepared. NATO will be a major topic, as will trade and Ukraine. When we talk about German domestic politics (AFD), I will use clear words”.
“The Chancellery will intensify bilateral talks”.
04:04 PM BST
Welcome to our live coverage
Hello and welcome to our live coverage as Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, prepares to meet Donald Trump in the White House.
We’ll bring you the latest as it happens.
