Putin says he’s ready to go to Washington to meet Trump

WASHINGTON – After President Donald Trump pushed their next meeting into next year, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said Friday that he is “ready to go to Washington,” but conditions have to be right for another summit – and, for good measure, the two presidents also talked about yet another meeting later in Moscow.

“We are ready for such meetings; we are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow,” Putin said during a visit to South Africa. “He has this invitation already, and I told him about it.”

It is not known when or if future Trump-Putin meetings might take place, though the White House said Trump is looking at sessions at the White House and the Kremlin.

“President Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. “And he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation.”

Putin’s comments came two days after the White House said Trump – who had invited Putin to Washington for a meeting in the fall – wanted to delay things.

“The president believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we’ve agreed that it will be after the first of the year,” White House national security adviser John Bolton said.

Trump is still taking criticism for the July 16 one-on-one summit with Putin in Helsinki. Republicans and Democrats alike blasted Trump for being too deferential to the Russian leader.