US President Donald Trump on Saturday accused Germany of owing "vast sums of money" to NATO and the US, one day after his meeting at the White House with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He said on Twitter that Germany owed NATO and the US for the "powerful, and very expensive defence it provides to Germany!"
Trump also tweeted that he had a "great" meeting with Merkel, despite the "fake news" that, in his opinion, have been published in US media outlets.
During his press conference with Merkel on Friday, he again raised complained that many European members of NATO, which he has described as "obsolete", were not pulling their weight within the Atlantic Alliance.
"Many nations owe vast sums of money from past years and it is very unfair to the US. These nations must pay what they owe," he said, apparently referring to the failure of some member-states to comply with the NATO guideline calling for devoting at least two per cent of gross domestic product to the military, CNN reported.
Merkel said Germany had committed to increasing its military spending to the previously agreed level of two per cent of GDP for NATO's European members.
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The US President also lashed out at the news media on Saturday.
"Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS," he tweeted, "I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel."
--IANS
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