DONALD Trump was accused of "treason" by an ex-CIA boss after his historic summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki yesterday.

Former intelligence chief John Brennan said the President is "in the pocket" of the Russian leader after Trump hailed successful talks "towards a brighter future."

25 Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin appear at a joint press conference together following their historic summit Credit: AP:Associated Press

Brennan tweeted: "Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors'. It was nothing short of treasonous."

He added: "Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you?"

Both leaders hailed "useful" talks in Helsinki, but Trump is facing a backlash - being labelled a traitor for appearing to ignore US intelligence in favour of Putin's word.

Following the meeting, Trump hailed 'open and deeply productive' talks with the Russian President and insisted Moscow had not interfered with the 2016 US election.

What we know so far:

Donald Trump has arrived in Helsinki, Finland, ready for his first 'one-on-one' meeting with Vladimir Putin this morning

The meeting is going ahead despite an ongoing FBI probe in America into alleged Russian interference in the US election

Investigator Robert Mueller's team indicted 12 Russian spies on Friday, accusing them of a "sustained effort" to hack the Democrats in 2016

Trump denies his team colluded with the Russian hacking campaign and has labelled it a 'Rigged Witch Hunt' in today's tweets

His meeting with Putin comes just days after he spent a week sowing discord among traditional allies Nato, Britain and the EU

Allies now fear he may offer concessions to Vladimir Putin that could include recognising Russian possession of the Crimea, or the relaxing of economic sanctions

Yesterday, in an interview with CBS, Trump said the EU was one of America's biggest "foes" alongside Russian and China

In a Good Morning Britain interview with Piers Morgan, Trump said he wanted the US to "get along" with Russia and called Putin a "competitor"

Putin - notorious for keeping people waiting - arrived in Helsinki this morning almost an hour late for the meeting with Trump

The pair then posed for photographs together and gave brief comments to waiting media before an extremely tense-looking handshake

Following the meeting, Trump hailed 'open and deeply productive' talks with the Russian President and insisted Moscow had not interfered with the 2016 US election.

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He said: "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.

"He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be.”

Trump and his administration are at the centre of an FBI probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking for links between Trump's team and Russian election interference.

On Friday Mueller indicted 12 Russian members of the Russian intelligence agency GRU, accusing them of engaging in a "sustained effort" to hack Democrats' emails and computers.

25 Melania Trump watches the press conference from the front row Credit: Reuters

Trump openly questioned his own agencies’ finding while appearing to accept Putin's denial that Russia meddled in the 2016 race.

Putin admitted to backing Trump, adding: "I wanted him to win because he talked about normalising Russian-American relations."

As the two powerhouses met across a small table in front of the world's media, Trump appeared to wink at Putin.

After two hours of private discussions Trump declared: "We made the first steps towards a brighter future, grounded on cooperation and peace. Refusing to engage will not accomplish anything.

"The disagreements between our two countries are well-known and president Putin and I discussed them at length today.

25 Trump pictured speaking to the press following his meeting with Putin Credit: AFP or licensors

25 Putin reminded the assembled media the Cold War 'was over' Credit: AP:Associated Press

"Even during the tensions of the Cold War, when the world looked much different than it does today, Russia and the US were able to maintain a strong dialogue.

"Our relationship has never been worse than it is now. However, that changed. As of about four hours ago. This was a very constructive day. I’m sure we’ll be meeting again in the future, often."

Putin, looking noticeably happier than earlier in the day, said: "The Cold War has ended a long time ago, the situation in the world has drastically changed. Russia and the United States are now facing totally different challenges."

He added the meeting marked the first steps to restore "an acceptable level of trust and go back to previous level of interaction on all mutual interest issues".

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin hold joint news conference after summit in Helsinki and Russian leader says: 'The Cold War is over'

25 Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin shake hands during their first official 'one-on-one' meeting today Credit: Reuters

25 They are meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland Credit: AFP

25 Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin pictured together at their crunch meeting Credit: Reuters

Donald Trump denies claims of Russian interference in 2016 US election and says he's president because he ran a 'brilliant campaign'