Donald Trump has dismissed reports of him seemingly snubbing Angela Merkel's request for a handshake as "fake news".

The President insisted he had a "great" meeting with the German Chancellor in a tweet on Saturday morning.

But he followed this up with a tweet accusing Germany of not paying enough to NATO.

He said Germany must stump up more money to the US in order to cover the cost of the defence it provides.

Mr Trump wrote: "Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!"

Before his inaugration, Mr Trump had described NATO as "obsolete", but has since assured European leaders the alliance remains important to the US.

In February, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said NATO allies must increase defence spending by the end of the year, or the US will "moderate its commitment" to NATO.

Mr Trump's "fake news" statement comes after what appeared to be an awkward moment in front of the cameras in the Oval Office when the President seemed to ignore Chancellor Merkel's offer of a handshake.

While campaigning for the presidency, Mr Trump had criticised Ms Merkel, accusing her of "ruining" Germany for allowing an influx of refugees and other migrants from Syria.