Trump 'open' to visiting Moscow: White House
US President Donald Trump is "open" to visiting Moscow, the White House said after Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated he has invited his American counterpart for another one-on-one meeting.
"He is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement on Friday.
Trump had initially invited Putin to visit Washington in the fall to build up on their summit in Helsinki, Finland, which drew sharp criticism over the US president’s failure to take the Russian leader to task over alleged election meddling.
However, the White House backed away from that plan earlier this week after the Kremlin did not immediately respond to Trump’s invitation.
National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday that the two leaders would not hold a meeting in the near future as it had previously been announced, at least not until next year.
Bolton blamed the delay on the investigation into Trump's alleged collusion with Moscow during the 2016 presidential election in the United States.
“The president believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we've agreed that it will be after the first of the year,” Bolton said, according to Politico.
The delay also came after Republican leaders in Congress expressed concerns that a visit by the Russian leader would create political uproar ahead of the November midterm election.
Putin said Friday that he was "ready to come to Washington" to meet Trump if the conditions are right.
"I am ready to go to Washington. I repeat once again, if the right conditions for work are created," Putin told reporters in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In Helsinki, Trump accepted Putin’s “strong denial” about Russian interference in the US election over US intelligence officials who accuse Moscow of meddling in the election on Trump’s behalf.
Facing the backlash at home, Trump said he believed the US intelligence findings and held Putin personally responsible for the alleged election interference.
However, he contradicted his expression of support by slamming the Russia probe as a “witch hunt” and the allegations of Russian meddling as a “hoax.”
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