US President Donald Trump has welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the White House for the first face-to-face meeting between two leaders known for holding opposing views on a host of issues, according to Reuters.

Items on the agenda for Friday's meeting included the fight against ISIL, strengthening the NATO alliance and resolving Ukraine's conflict with Russia.

At the start of her remarks in a joint press conference, Merkel said it was "much better to talk to one another and not about one another", according  to Aljazeera News.

The visit began cordially, with the pair shaking hands at the entrance of the White House.

But later, sitting side-by-side in the Oval Office, Merkel's suggestion of another handshake went unheard or ignored by Trump - an awkward moment in what are usually highly scripted occasions.

Trump, whose executive order temporarily suspending the US refugee programme and barring people from several Muslim-majority countries was recently struck down again by a federal court, said both countries must protect themselves from the threat of what he called "radical Islamic terrorism".

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