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."

Trump refuses to shake Angela Merkel's hand

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."

Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Show all 28 1 /28 Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Christian Adams for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Martin Rowson for The Guardian Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Christian Adams for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Morten Morland for The Times Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Bob Moran for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Christian Adams for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Morten Morland for The Times Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' KAL for The Economist Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Martin Rowson for The Guardian

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.