US President Donald Trump has met Pope Francis for a short private audience on the third leg of his overseas trip.

The Vatican said after the meeting that there had been an “exchange of views” on international issues, and spoke of the need to continue good relations. Mr Trump said they had a “fantastic meeting”. The two men have in the past clashed on issues such as migration, climate change and a Mexico-US wall.

Mr Trump also met Italy’s president and prime minister while in Rome. He is now flying on to Brussels for a summit of Nato, the Western military alliance. He arrived in Europe from Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he vowed to try and achieve peace in the region. The US leader began his foreign trip with a two-day stop in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, urging Muslim countries to take the lead in combating radicalisation.