RTFri, 27 Jul 2018 13:49 UTC
© Rodolfo Buhrer/Global Look Press
"We're ready to invite Trump to Moscow. By the way, he has such an invitation. I told him about that," the Russian leader said during a press conference at the sidelines of the BRICS summit. "I'm also ready to come to Washington if proper working conditions are created."
The Russian and US leaders held a much-anticipated summit in Helsinki, Finland earlier this month, with Putin saying that both he and Trump were interested in more high-level contacts.
"As for our meetings, I think, they're useful," Putin said.
Weighing in on the harsh criticism faced by Trump in America after the Helsinki summit, the Russian leader acknowledged that there were "internal political problems" in the US, but stressed that "life goes on."
Contact between Moscow and Washington continue and new meetings with Trump are also possible "in the shortest of time frames" at international platforms, including the G20, Putin said.
He also praised the US President for being a person that always sticks to his commitments.
"A great advantage of President Trump is that he strives to fulfill his promises, first of all, those given to his voters - the American people," Putin said. He described it as one of Trump's "positive" features because "very often after the election some leaders quickly forget what they promised to the people in the run-up to the vote."
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President Trump is "open" to the idea of visiting Moscow, but only if he receives a formal invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House has said.
"He is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Friday, adding that the President also looks forward to hosting Putin in the US next year.
Earlier this week, Trump postponed a Washington meeting between the two leaders until next year, citing political fallout over Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing and still fruitless 'Russiagate' investigation.
The Kremlin had not formally agreed to a meeting, which had been slated to take place this fall. Aide Yuri Ushakov said that while a meeting should take place, "it would be wise to let the dust settle" first.
Trump was heavily criticized by Democrats, Republicans, and the US media for meeting with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, earlier this month. They argued that Trump should have pressed his Russian counterpart harder on allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and should have warned Putin against interfering with the upcoming 2018 midterm elections.
While Trump was eviscerated in the media for his handling of the Helsinki summit, a recent poll conducted by The Hill found that 54 percent of Americans support a second summit between the two leaders in Washington, and 61 percent say that better relations with Russia are in the best interests of the United States.
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