German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he asked President Donald Trump to put more pressure on Russia as its three-year war against Ukraine shows no signs of slowing down despite repeated attempts from the White House to broker peace between the two warring nations.
Merz met with Trump Thursday at the White House, his first visit to Washington, D.C., since becoming Germany’s chancellor in May and several days after Ukraine launched a surprise drone attack on Russian air bases across the country.
"Only strength brings peace. And if you are weak, you invite aggression," he said in an interview on "Special Report."
"Russia has it in its own hands to stop this war immediately. They could stop it overnight. So that's the reason why I asked the president to go along with us, to put more pressure on this government, on Putin, to come to an end with this terrible war."
U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump has held off on enacting additional secondary sanctions against Moscow as his administration continues attempts to bring Russia’s war to an end.
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Kyiv and Moscow held a second round of talks Monday in Istanbul, which failed to move the needle closer to securing a ceasefire deal. They both agreed to another large-scale prisoner swap that would see severely injured troops return home.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire earlier this year, which was rejected by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Image depicts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Fox News Digital image)
A bipartisan sanctions bill backed by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., would impose additional severe economic penalties on Russia and its supporters in an attempt to pressure Moscow to engage in "good faith negotiations."
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"Our legislation will isolate Russia – putting it on a trade island by imposing stiff tariffs on other countries that support these atrocities," Blumenthal said in a press release. "One of the main priorities of our legislation is to hold China accountable for propping up Putin’s war machine by buying cheap Russian oil from the shadow fleet. Without China’s economic support, Putin’s war machine would come to a grinding halt."
Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday that he hasn’t looked at the sanctions bill yet, but believes its path will be "guided" by him.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets German Chancellor Friedrich Merz upon arrival at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
"I'm a very quick study. At the right time, I'll do what I want to do, but it could very well be OK. I have to see. But they're waiting for me to decide on what to do, and I'll know, maybe very soon. It's a harsh bill, yeah, very harsh," he said.
Merz acknowledged to "Special Report" guest anchor Aishah Hasnie that it’s been "extremely complicated" to bring the Russians to the table.
"That's the reason why I asked the president to do more on Russia and to put pressure on Russia," he said. "You know that there is a bill in the Senate drafted on more sanctions. [I] just had a debate, a discussion with some colleagues from the Senate, so I very much hope that we will go along and that we will do the same. And the same has one goal: bring this terrible war to an end."