Washington: US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin may meet “in a not-too-distant future” at the White House, Trump’s Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday.
“As the President himself confirmed on March 20, hours after his last call with President Putin, the two had discussed a bilateral meeting in the ‘not-too-distant future’ at a number of potential venues, including the White House,” Sanders said.
“We have nothing further to add at this time.”
Earlier, in Moscow, Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov said that during their most recent telephone conversation, Trump proposed a meeting with Putin at the presidential mansion in Washington, Xinhua news reported.
Ushakov expressed confidence that Washington would not withdraw the invitation, which was extended before the mutual expulsion of US and Russian diplomats over a spy attack case case.
The Russian official, according to reports from Moscow, described as “interesting” and “positive” the idea of a meeting, adding that the Presidents did not discuss dates or deadlines for the summit.
The Russian official admitted that after the expulsion of diplomats and the closing of the consulate, “of course, it became difficult to discuss a possible summit”.
Former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent in the UK last month, and officials said Moscow was behind the attack.
The Russian government, however, has denied that it was behind the attack on the former spy.
In response to the attack, Trump ordered the expulsion on March 26 of 60 Russian diplomats and the closing of Russia’s consulate in Seattle.
On March 29, Russia ordered the expulsion of 60 US diplomats and the closing of the US consulate in St. Petersburg.
Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were attacked with a nerve agent that British authorities concluded was produced in Russia.
