U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the situation in Libya and West Africa during a meeting in Britain on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

"President Trump and Chancellor Merkel had a pull aside meeting for about 10 minutes," Sanders said.

"They agreed to discuss further at the G20," she added. The G20 meeting takes place in Japan later this month.

"The meeting was not planned by the German side and they discussed the current situation in Libya." said a spokesman for the German government.

The meeting was attended by National Security Adviser John Bolton and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.