US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for the position of secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has come under fire for his relationship with the Russian government while he worked as a corporate executive at oil giant ExxonMobil.

At his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, the former oil company CEO received support from noted figures such as former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who also criticised him for refusing to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.

TRT World'sAndrew Hopkins reports.