Merz failed to convince Trump to pressure Moscow and provide aid to Kyiv.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had one main request for US President Trump during his visit to the Oval Office late last week: That the American leader support Europe in pressuring Moscow to cease its attacks on Ukraine and end the war. In Washington, Merz stressed that the US and Germany agree on “how terrible this war is,” while assigning all blame for the violence to Putin and emphasizing that Germany supports Ukraine.

To which Trump replied: “Maybe they need to fight a little more.” It marks yet another retreat by Trump from the bloody war that he had confidently promised to end.

The US president made no promises to put pressure on Russia and offered no specific commitments to supply weapons to Ukraine or support sanctions.

President Zelenskyy responded to Trump’s words, who compared Russia and Ukraine to children fighting in the park, who should be allowed to fight: “We are not children with Putin on a playground in the park. He is a murderer who came to this park to kill children.”

Simply increasing economic pressure on Russia is not enough to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table, but Western military aid to Ukraine and Russia’s losses on the battlefield can change the Kremlin’s policy.