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US President Donald Trump says Germany owes "vast sums of money" to NATO and the United States "must be paid more" for providing defence.
Mr Trump's tweet from his Florida resort, where he is spending the weekend, came the day after his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He wrote that he had a "great" meeting with Ms Merkel, but he reiterated his stance that European allies need to meet their end of the bargain if they are to continue benefiting from the military alliance.
During his presidential campaign, Mr Trump frequently accused the Chancellor of "ruining" Germany for allowing an influx of refugees and other migrants from Syria.
Both leaders tried to sidestep their differences in their meeting at the White House on Friday, but it was punctuated by some awkward moments.
During a photo opportunity in the Oval Office, the two did not shake hands before reporters.
Later, during a joint news conference, Mr Trump pushed back against the notion in Europe that his "America First" agenda means he's an isolationist, calling such a suggestion "another example of, as you say, fake news".
And he referred to the United States as "a very powerful company", before quickly correcting that to "country".
When a German reporter asked the President if he regrets any of his commentary on Twitter, Mr Trump said, "very seldom".
Prior to his inauguration, Mr Trump declared NATO "obsolete" but has since modified his stance, telling European leaders the alliance remains of strategic importance.
Only the US and four other members currently reach the benchmark of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence.
Germany currently spends 1.23 per cent of its GDP on defence, but it is being increased.
AP
Topics: world-politics, foreign-affairs, defence-and-national-security, united-states, germany, european-union
First posted