US President Donald Trump has pushed back his plan to hold another summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The delay was announced by the White House, and comes as the West Wing works to quell controversy over a meeting between the two leaders last week in Helsinki. During that trip, Mr Trump suggested he believes Mr Putin when he says Russia did not meddle in the 2016 US election – a statement that Mr Trump later reversed, claiming he misspoke.

“The president believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we’ve agreed that it will be after the first of the year,” the statement, attributed to National Security Adviser John Bolton, said, referring to the ongoing investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

The postponement follows just a day after Russian officials demurred on whether Mr Putin would accept an invitation from Mr Trump to visit Washington for a follow-up summit. This means the US president will not have a high profile meeting with the Russian leader on American soil before the upcoming US midterm elections in November.

Mr Trump’s comments in Helsinki sparked widespread condemnation in the US from politicians in both of America’s two major political parties, and critics questioned whether the president had betrayed American interests by appearing to give so much deference to the remarks of the leader of one of America’s biggest global adversaries.

“My people came to me,” Mr Trump said in Helsinki, standing aside Mr Putin. “They said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.”

Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Show all 16 1 /16 Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki Reuters Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests An advert from Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat is on display in Helsinki Reuters Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump in a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump meets with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Helsinki EPA Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Mantyniemi, the official residence of the Finnish President EPA Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests US, Finnish and Russian flags fly in front of the Presidential Palace in Helsinki EPA Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests A protester wears a mask featuring a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the so-called "Helsinki against Trump and Putin" demonstration on July 16, 2018, in the Finnish capital Helsinki. The US and Russian leaders opened an historic summit in Helsinki on Monday, with Donald Trump promising an "extraordinary relationship" and Vladimir Putin saying it was high time to thrash out disputes around the world. / AFP PHOTO / Jonathan NACKSTRANDJONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images JONATHAN NACKSTRAND AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Vladimir Putin gifts a football to President Trump at the press conference that followed their meeting AP Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Trump supporters hold banners during a demonstration in Helsinki AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests People protest for women's reproductive rights in Helsinki's Senate Square Reuters Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests A crowd watches the motorcade transporting President Trump through Helsinki AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Russian President Putin drives through Helsinki on his way to meet with President Trump EPA Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests A man in the audience of the joint press conference holds up a sign sign that reads "NUCLEAR WEAPON BAN TREATY". REUTERS Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests A man is removed from the joint press conference in Helsinki. Security removed the man after he pulled out a sign that read "NUCLEAR WEAPON BAN TREATY". REUTERS Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump and Russia's President Putin sit for a working lunch in Finland's Presidential Palace AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki Reuters

One day later, Mr Trump attempted to roll that back, saying that he meant to say he didn’t see any reason why it “wouldn’t” have been Russia that hacked America’s 2016 elections.

“The sentence should have been, ‘I don’t see why it wouldn’t be Russia,’” Mr Trump said. “Sort of a double negative. So you can put that in, and I think that probably clarifies things pretty good”.

It is not at all clear that the Russia investigation spearheaded by Special Counsel Robert Mueller will end before year’s end, as Mr Bolton’s statement appears to imply.

That investigation, which has been ongoing for over a year, has already resulted in dozens of indictments, including several individuals associated with Mr Trump or his campaign.