() President Donald Trump on Thursday likened the Russia-Ukraine conflict to two children fighting in a park, suggesting to the two nations “fight for a while” before peace efforts resume.

“Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy, they hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park,” Trump said, describing what he told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call on Wednesday. “Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.”

The comments came during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday.

“A lot of bad blood, they’re so bad blood between the two,” Trump said. “There’s a great hatred between those two men, but between the warring parties, great hatred.”

Trump added he’d like to see peace “start right now,” but said recent escalations, including Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia, complicate the situation.

He also recalled his role in de-escalating tensions between nuclear powers India and Pakistan, saying, “I wish we could do the same thing with Ukraine and Russia. At some point, it will happen; I believe that.”

Merz agreed the war is “terrible,” calling Trump the “key person in the world” capable of ending the bloodshed. However, he emphasized 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,” Merz said of Ukraine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.