Republicans blast Donald Trump for congratulating Vladimir Putin on re-election - after being 'warned not to'

Donald Trump has been slammed by fellow Republicans for congratulating Russian president Vladimir Putin on his re-election during a phone call.

"An American president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections,” said Senator John McCain of Arizona. "And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election."

Mr McCain's Arizona colleague, Sen. Jeff Flake, also labelled Mr Trump's congratulatory call "odd".

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said calling Mr Putin "wouldn't have been high on my list”.

It comes after Mr Putin won another six-year term in a landslide election which was criticised for a lack of opposition. He has been in charge since 2000.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted that President Barack Obama made a similar call at the time of Mr Putin's last electoral victory.

"We don't get to dictate how other countries operate," she said.

The Washington Post reported that the president’s advisers specifically warned him not to congratulate Mr Putin on his re-election. They allegedly emphasised the instruction by writing it in capital letters on a briefing note.

"DO NO CONGRATULATE," it reportedly read.

But Mr Trump did just that, while failing to raise Russia's meddling in US elections or its suspected involvement in the poisoning of a former spy in Britain.

“I congratulated him on the victory, the electoral victory,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House while meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“The call had to do also with the fact that we will probably get together in the not too distant future so we can discuss arms, we can discuss the arms race.”

The president also said that a meeting between the pair could happen soon and they would follow up on Mr Putin's recent declaration that he does not want an arms race with the US.

"I suspect that we'll probably be meeting in the not too distant future to discuss the arms race, to discuss the arms race, which is getting out of control, but we will never allow anybody to have anything even close to what we have," President Trump said.

"Also to discuss Ukraine, Syria and North Korea and various other things."

The Kremlin said in a statement the two presidents spoke about the need to "co-ordinate efforts to limit the arms race" and for closer cooperation on strategic stability and counter-terrorism.

"Special attention was given to considering the issue of a possible bilateral summit," the Kremlin statement said.