Kremlin: Putin invited to Washington at the end of the year
According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin received an invitation to meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington later this year. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s assistant told journalists on Tuesday, July 24 that preparation for this summit has not yet begun.
According to Ushakov, the Presidents of the two countries agreed on the importance of continuing bilateral contacts during their first official meeting in Helsinki on July 16. "The issue of organizing upcoming meetings wasn't discussed in Helsinki but a few days later, the Americans came out with a proposal to hold the next summit," Putin's assistant added.
A meeting during the G20 summit has not been ruled out. Ushakov also said that the two presidents will have more opportunities for holding bilateral negotiations. The next meeting between Putin and Trump could be conducted during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires or at other international events.
The presidential aide had refused to answer questions after the summit in Helsinki, emphasizing a sharply negative reaction in the United States. "This topic is too hot, and any comment will cause a negative reaction," he explained.
Trump stated at a press conference after the Helsinki summit that he trusts US intelligence agencies' statements regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election campaign, as well as Vladimir Putin's denial of it. According to him, the truth lies somewhere in between. His statement caused an extremely negative reaction among politicians and the public in the United States.
Both Democratic and Republican Senate leaders accused Trump of avoiding a clear statement on Russia's interference in the US elections during the Helsinki press conference. Chuck Schumer, US Senate Minority Leader of the Democratic Party called his speech "shameful." According to him, no President in the history of the USA has ever defended the enemy the way that Trump did.
Mark Warner, one of the Democratic Party leaders in the Senate emphasized that Trump's statements on Russia contradict his presidential duties to protect the US from their opponents. He wrote on Twitter that it was a complete shame for the president to side with Putin against his own intelligence agencies.
Republican John McCain, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee believes that the president's statements on Russian cyber-attacks during the summit amounted to a complete failure, unparalleled in the history of the American presidency.