German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told President Donald Trump he is in a “strong position” to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine, to which the president suggested maybe the world needs to “let them fight for a little while.”

“America is again in a very strong position to do something on this war and ending this war,” Merz said, while also referencing the U.S.’s role in ending World War II on the eve of the anniversary of D-Day, which marked the turn of events that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany. “So let’s talk about what we can do jointly, and we are ready to do what we can.”

Merz called for more pressure to be placed on Russia in coordination with European allies. 

GERMANY’S MERZ TO ‘ADAPT’ TO TRUMP DURING HIGH-STAKES MEETING ON TARIFFS, DEFENSE

Trump responded by providing an analogy of two kids fighting, and suggested perhaps it was “too early” to break up the fight between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy – they hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart, they don’t want to be pulled,” Trump said.  “Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.”

Trump said he gave that analogy to Putin in his call with him on Wednesday and said he told the Kremlin chief “maybe you’re going to have to keep fighting and suffering a lot.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 7, 2025. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Reporters asked Merz, who has been an ardent supporter of Ukraine and recently lifted Germany’s existing strike bans, if he agrees with Trump that “fighting it out” was the way to proceed. 

“I think we both agree on this war and how terrible this war is. And we are both looking for ways to stop it very soon,” Merz said. “I told the president before we came in that he is the key person in the world who can really do that now by putting pressure on Russia, and we will have this debate later on again, how we can proceed jointly between the Europeans and the Americans. 

European leaders, from left, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, hold a telephone conversation with President Trump at the 6th European Political Community summit on May 16, 2025, at Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, Albania. (KuglerSteffen/Bundesregierung via Getty Images)

“I think we are all… having the duty to do something on that now, to stop it after three and a half years, which is really terrible,” he added, making it clear without directly contradicting the president that he did not agree with Trump. 

“We are on the side of Ukraine, and we are trying to get them stronger and stronger just to make Putin stop this war. This is our approach,” Merz added.

Polls indicate a close race between Dutch far-right PVV party and the Labour/Green Left alliance.

Dutch voters will head to the polls on October 29 in snap elections triggered by the dramatic collapse of the right-wing ruling coalition.

Interior Minister Judith Uitermark announced the election date on Friday and said she would coordinate with municipalities to ensure a smooth voting process.

Polls indicate a close race between the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), led by firebrand Geert Wilders, and the Labour/Green Left alliance, headed by former European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans.

The centre-right VVD is trailing slightly behind, suggesting a tightly contested vote.

The election was called after Wilders withdrew the PVV from the governing coalition in a dispute over immigration policy, pushing Prime Minister Dick Schoof and his cabinet to resign.

Wilders had accused the government of dragging its feet on implementing what was intended to be the “strictest-ever” immigration policy agreed by the four-way coalition.

His decision to bring down the coalition prompted a backlash from partners, who accused him of acting out of self-interest.

“We had a right-wing majority and he’s let it all go for the sake of his ego,” said Dilan Yesilgoz, leader of the VVD, which was a coalition member.

“It is irresponsible to take down the government at this point,” added Nicolien van Vroonhoven, leader of the NSC, another member of the collapsed alliance.

Wilders’s PVV stunned the political establishment in November 2023 by winning 37 of the 150 seats in parliament – emerging as the largest party by a strong margin.

To govern, he assembled a four-party coalition with the VVD, the farmers’ BBB party and the anticorruption NSC – but the price was to give up his ambition to become prime minister.

Polling as of May 31 shows the PVV’s support has dipped slightly – from 23 percent at the time of the 2023 election to 20 percent. The Labour/Green Left alliance follows closely with 19 percent and currently holds 25 seats in the lower house of parliament, second only to the PVV.

The fragmented political landscape makes the outcome difficult to predict.

In the meantime, Schoof has said he and his cabinet will continue in a caretaker role until a new government is formed.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Indiana Pacers started the NBA Finals by making the wrong type of history.

The Pacers committed 19 turnovers in the first half of Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. It was the highest number of turnovers by a team before halftime of a postseason game during the league’s digital play-by-play era, which goes back to the 1997 playoffs.

There has not been a 20-turnover first half in any NBA game since Nov. 17, 2007, when the New Jersey Nets — the franchise that now plays in Brooklyn — had that many in the first two quarters of what became a 91-87 loss to the Miami Heat.

The Pacers had nine turnovers in the first quarter, 10 more in the second. But they were only down 57-45 at the half, in part because Oklahoma City had turned the 19 Indiana giveaways into only nine points.

Oklahoma City led the NBA this season in turnovers forced, averaging 17.0 per game in the regular season.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA