U.S. President Donald Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron at Elysee presidential palace, as part of the commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day, 100 years after the end of the First World War, in Paris, France, November 10, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and French leader Emmanuel Macron held a “very constructive” bilateral meeting on Saturday, an official in the French presidency said.

The two leaders met hours after Trump was scathing in a tweet of Macron’s suggestion earlier this week that Europe needed a European army to bolster its defence capacities and reduce its dependence on the United States.

The Elysee Palace official said there had been a “misunderstanding” and that Trump, who had tweeted that Macron’s comments were “very insulting”, had told Macron in their meeting: “I think we are much closer than it seems.”