NEW YORK, July 17. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has agreed with Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s remark that the current low level of relations between the two countries is a shame, as he himself said in an interview with Fox News.

Putin and Trump held their first full-fledged meeting in Finland’s capital of Helsinki on Monday.

"One of the early things he [Putin] said when we started was, ‘It's really a shame, because we could do so much good’," Trump noted. He added that "they drove a phony wedge, it's a phony witch hunt," referring to the investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election, headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In connection with the investigation, which has been going on for more than a year, charges have been brought against several Russian citizens, as well as against five Americans and one Dutch national. On July 13, US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced charges against another 12 individuals who were said to be Russian intelligence officers.

Trump and the key members of his team have been repeatedly rejecting all the accusations concerning collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Moscow has also been refuting these allegations.