By Andreas Rinke, Andrea Shalal, Sarah Marsh and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz bonded during an amicable White House meeting on Thursday with talks about Ukraine,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Germany’s new leader is meeting President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday as he works to keep the U.S. on board with Western support for Ukraine, help defuse trade tensions that pose a risk to Europe’s biggest economy and further bolster his country’s long-criticized military spending.

US President Donald Trump on June 5 compared Russia's war against Ukraine to children fighting in comments during a visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, telling reporters at the White House that “sometimes you're better off letting them fight for a while.