Trump asked aide to invite Putin to Washington, White House says
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a tweet Thursday that President Trump has asked his national security adviser to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington, D.C. in the fall.
"In Helsinki, @POTUS agreed to ongoing working level dialogue between the two security council staffs," Sanders tweeted. "President Trump asked @Ambjohnbolton to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway."
The two world leaders have made headlines over their Monday summit in Helsinki, Finland, in which Mr. Trump's performance was widely criticized. Mr. Trump's relationship with Putin has come under close scrutiny amid the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
But Mr. Trump has continued to insist that the U.S. should try to have a good relationship with Russia. He also says Russian interference with the election had nothing to do with his surprise victory and that his staff never colluded with foreign intelligence.
Mr. Trump tweeted about the potential "second meeting" with the Kremlin Thursday.
"The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media," he said. "I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed, including stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear........"
The last time a Russian presidential visit happened was in June 2010 when then-president Barack Obama met with President Dmitry Medvedev.
In an interview with CBS News' Jeff Glor this week, Mr. Trump said he would hold Putin accountable for election meddling.
"Well, I would, because he's in charge of the country," Mr. Trump told Glor. "Just like I consider myself to be responsible for things that happen in this country. So certainly as the leader of a country you would have to hold him responsible, yes."
