Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, has indicated Europe can no longer completely rely on its American and British allies in the wake of Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump, declaring the continent’s destiny is in our own hands.

Her extraordinary comments followed meetings of European leaders with Mr Trump at Nato and the G7 .

Mrs Merkel, speaking at an election campaign event in a Bavarian beer tent, said it had served as a wake-up call.

She said: “The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days.

And so, all I can say is that we Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.

Referencing Brexit, she said: Of course we need to have friendly relations with the US, and with the UK, and with other neighbours, including Russia.

But she added: We have to fight for our own future ourselves, for our destiny as Europeans.

Mrs Merkel wished French President Emmanuel Macron success. added: Where Germany can help, Germany will help, because Germany can only do well if Europe is doing well.

It came as Mr Macron called his high profile handshake with Mr Trump a moment of truth and compared the US leader to Vladimir Putin and Turkey’ President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr Macron and Mr Trump gripped hands so firmly when they met for the first time at the Nato summit in Brussels that their knuckles turned white and their jaws seemed to clench.

The newly elected French president said: My handshake with him, it wasn’t innocent. One must show that you won’t make small concessions, even symbolic ones.

He told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper: “Donald Trump, the Turkish president, or the Russian president see things in terms of power relationships, which doesn’t bother me.

I don’t believe in diplomacy through public criticism but in my bilateral dialogues I don’t let anything pass. That is how you get respect.

Mrs Merkel was disappointed by Mr Trump’s refusal at the G7 to recommit America to the Paris climate accord. After the summit, she called the climate talks very difficult, if not to say, very unsatisfactory.

Mr Trump has vowed to make a decision on the Paris accord this week and has reportedly told confidants he is inclined to withdraw.

If so, it would be a blow to the legacy of his predecessor Barack Obama and to European allies.

At the Nato summit Mr Trump told allies they were not spending enough on defence. He also criticised Germany’s trade surplus and threatened to stop German exports of cars to the US.

However, EU Council President Donald Tusk said he was optimistic after European leaders’ talks with Mr Trump.

He said: What I am absolutely sure of after this meeting is that, despite some extraordinary expressions and behaviours, our partners in the G7 are much more responsible than the first impression after the election in the United States.

At the weekend Mr Trump arrived back in Washington from a nine-day world tour as as the White House was dealing with reports that Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, had tried to set up a secret communications back channel with the Kremlin in December.

Mr Trump called his trip a home run and said it was a great success for America. Hard work but big results.

The president’s Twitter account had been relatively dormant during his trip abroad but he returned to it, using it to declare that leaks emanating from the White House were fabricated lies.