4/2/2018

RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump recently raised the idea of inviting Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to the White House, the Kremlin said Monday [2-2-18], putting the relationship between the two leaders front and center amid worsening ties between their governments. The suggestion, which came in a March 20 telephone call, followed Mr. Putin’s victory in a presidential election but also the poisoning of a former Russian spy with a nerve agent in the U.K., an attack that prompted broad condemnation, including from the U.S., after the U.K. government blamed it on Russia. The White House confirmed that a potential meeting was discussed, with the White House mentioned as a possible location. Kremlin foreign-policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian news agencies the two leaders hadn’t agreed a time frame for any potential meeting.”

Thomas Grove, “Trump Used Call With Putin to Float Idea of White House Visit,” The Wall Street Jounal, April 2, 2018 12:18pm