Trump calls for 'extraordinary relationship' with Putin's Russia

President Donald Trump has called for the US and Russia to embark on an “extraordinary relationship” after a historic first summit with counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The build-up to the Helsinki meeting between the two heads of state had seen Trump under pressure to confront Putin over potential meddling in various elections but already looks more likely to be chalked up as a win for the Russian leader.

“We have discussions on everything from trade to military to missiles to nuclear to China,” said Trump.

Trump apparently ignored pressure following Friday’s indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers by a grand jury for their alleged role in meddling with the 2016 Presidential election.

He has repeatedly blamed special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the election interference as a reason for poor relations with the Kremlin, on Monday referring to the special counsel’s ongoing enquiries as a “rigged witch hunt”.

Russia’s foreign affairs ministry replied via twitter: “we agree”.

Despite an apparent display of one-upmanship that saw both leaders arrive over half an hour late for the meeting, Putin struck a similarly cooperative tone.

"We continue to have regular contacts - we have talked on the phone and met several times at various international events. But of course, now it's time to talk in detail about our bilateral relations and various problem areas in the world. There are a lot of them," said the Kremlin leader in Russian.

The summit ran over by half an hour behind closed doors, with Trump later telling journalists that the meeting had been a “very good start”.