Kremlin says that Trump invited Putin to Washington
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that U.S. President Donald Trump, during a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin on March 20, proposed a bilateral meeting in Washington.
“If everything goes well, I hope that the Americans will not back out on their proposal to discuss the possibility of holding a summit. When our presidents spoke by telephone, Trump suggested that the first meeting be held in Washington, at the White House,” RIA Novosti quoted Ushakov as saying.
On March 20, Trump said that a meeting with Putin could take place in the near future, but he didn’t say exactly where. At such a meeting, he would like to discuss the arms race between the two countries, as well as the situations in Ukraine, Syria and North Korea.
The Russian official added that after this “constructive business” conversation, there was “a failure in bilateral relations - the expulsion of sixty diplomats and the closure of the Consulate General.” Because of this, the subject of a meeting between the leaders has not been brought up again since March 20.
Putin and Trump have met in person twice. In July 2017, they held full talks during the G20 summit in Hamburg, and in November they spoke informally at the APEC summit in Danang.
During the March 20 conversation, Trump congratulated Putin on his re-election, although his advisers strongly advised him not to do so. He also said that if Russia drags the United States into an arms race, America will win.