Oct. 27 (UPI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to Washington, D.C., early next year, national security adviser John Bolton said Friday.
For President Donald Trump and the Kremlin leader, the event would be their third official meeting. The leaders first met in Helsinki, Finland, in July. A second meeting is planned in Paris for Nov. 11, to mark 100 years since the armistice that ended World War I.
Bolton confirmed the invitation had been extended while speaking to reporters Friday in the former Soviet state of Georgia. He visited Moscow earlier this week.
“We have invited President Putin to Washington after the first of the year for, basically, a full day of consultations,” Bolton said.
Last summer, Trump said he wanted to continue dialogue with Putin and invite him to visit the United States in the fall — an offer Putin refused.
If Putin accepts the new invite, it would be the third time he has visited the White House. He visited former President George W. Bush in November 2001 and September 2005.
Putin has also invited Trump to visit Moscow, but Bolton said those conditions “need to be right” with “necessary conditions.”
Trump was criticized at his first summit with Putin in Finland. When asked about Russian interference in the 2016 election, he said he didn’t “see any reason” why it would be Russia. He later clarified, saying he meant to say “wouldn’t” be Russia.
Trump’s initial statement contradicted U.S. intelligence agencies that concluded Russia was involved.
In his clarification, he added that he has the “full faith and support for America’s great intelligence agencies.”
