By Ashley Young
The White House has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Friday.
Putin and Trump have met several times in the past on the sidelines of multilateral gatherings, but had only one bilateral summit, in the Finnish capital in July.
“We have invited president Putin to Washington,” Bolton said. It was not immediately clear if Putin had accepted the invitation. The invitation comes at a sensitive time, shortly after the world had joined forces in condemning Russia for the Novichok poisoning
After the Helsinki encounter, Trump was accused by opponents, and even some members of his own Republican Party, of failing to stand up to the Russian leader.
The topic of Putin visiting the United States is a very sensitive and highly-charged one, because of the allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump win. Trump and some of his associates have also for a while now been the subject of investigations into the allegations headed by Mueller. So far nothing sufficiently incriminating has emerged from the investigations which are still not over.
Trump’s decision to invite the despotic leader will be frowned upon by many, but the U.S leader says it is in U.S. interests to establish a solid working relationship with Putin. The two world leaders plan to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of events in Paris on Nov. 11 to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War One.
Bolton, who was speaking at a news conference on a visit to ex-Soviet Georgia, said their Paris meeting would be brief.