After it was announced by the Kremlin on Monday that President Trump had invited recently re-elected Russian President Vladimir Putin to the White House during their March phone call, the White House has now said that it is considering hosting a meeting between Trump and Putin at the White House, ABC News reports.
“A number of potential venues, including the White House” are being considered for the meeting, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Monday, adding that the White House has “nothing further to add at this time.”
Following the call, Trump had announced to reporters that he had “a very good call” with the Russian president, congratulating him on his recent re-election, and that the two presidents would “probably get together in the not-too-distant future,” NBC News reports.
Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin aide who broke the news, said on Monday, according to the Russian news outlet, RBC, “When our presidents were talking on the telephone, Trump proposed to hold a first meeting in Washington, in the White House.”
According to NBC News, however, the Kremlin aide said that the two leaders did not have time to start planning a meeting time before the United States expelled 60 Russian diplomats.
The 60 Russian diplomats were expelled from the United States after it was alleged that the Russian government was responsible for the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Britain, ABC News reports.
Last week, according to NBC News, Russia announced that it would expel 60 American diplomats and close the consulate in St. Petersburg in a retaliatory move.
When asked about Russia’s actions to dismiss 60 American diplomats, Sanders said Russia’s response “marks a further deterioration in the United States-Russia relationship.”
Trump and Putin are currently no scheduled to meet each other for a meeting until the G-20 summit in November, NBC News reports.