The White House was reportedly misled over the Russian photographer who was present during the meeting between Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

When photos of the encounter emerged, US officials were said to be surprised because they had barred news media from attending the Oval Office meeting.

Not long afterwards, however, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted a photo of Mr Trump and Mr Lavrov shaking hands in the Oval Office.

The Russian Embassy followed on Twitter with a photo of Mr Trump smiling as he shook hands with Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador in Washington.