Donald Trump claims he had 'unbelievable chemistry' with Angela Merkel

Donald Trump has claimed he had "unbelievable chemistry" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel despite previously appearing to refuse to shake her hand.

The US President said he had "one of the best chemistries" with Ms Merkel.

"Yeah, it's funny," he said during an interview with the Associated Press. "One of the best chemistries I had was with Merkel."

Explaining away his handshake gaffe, he added: "And I guess somebody shouted out, 'Shake her hand, shake her hand,' you know. But I never heard it.

"But I had already shaken her hand four times. You know, because we were together for a long time."

When asked if he expected to have good chemistry with the German Chancellor, Mr Trump said: "No. Because, um, I'm at odds on, you know, the Nato payments and I'm at odds on immigration.

"We had unbelievable chemistry. And people have given me credit for having great chemistry with all of the leaders, including [Egyptian President Abdel Fatah] al-Sissi.... so it was a great thing to see that happen."

Mr Trump's comments appear at odds with the pair's relationship when they met in Washington in March.

The President appeared to ignore requests to shake hands with Ms Merkel as they sat together.

Ms Merkel could be heard saying "Do you want to have a handshake" as Mr Trump briefly turned towards her before continuing to sit with his hands together and legs apart.

But both leaders later described their meeting as having been very good.

It comes as Mr Trump and Ms Merkel discussed the "urgent security challenge" posed by North Korea.

The White House said the two also discussed the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and the need for a peaceful settlement to the crisis in Ukraine.