Donald Trump has said ties with Russia have "never been worse" and blamed US politicians, ahead of his first summit with counterpart Vladimir Putin.

In a tweet the US president denounced his predecessors' "stupidity" as well as the "rigged" inquiry into alleged election interference by Russia.

The summit is being held in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, later on Monday.

Ties have been strained by Russia's annexation of Crimea and by claims that Moscow helped Mr Trump win in 2016.

Some US politicians had called for the meeting to be cancelled after 12 Russian military intelligence officers were charged with hacking on Friday.

But in his tweet, Mr Trump put the blame for the deterioration in relations with Russia squarely on US domestic forces.

Aida AYSA,
“Khalg gazeti”