RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump is open to an invitation from Vladimir Putin to visit Moscow, a White House spokeswoman said Friday [7-27-18], days after his invitation to the Russian leader to visit Washington prompted bipartisan criticism. Following his return from a summit with Mr. Putin in Helsinki last week, where Mr. Trump drew widespread rebukes for appearing to side with the Russian leader over U.S. intelligence agencies on the subject of Russian election interference, the White House said the president had invited Mr. Putin to visit Washington in the fall. The move surprised Republican lawmakers and top administration officials, who said they still hadn’t been told what Mr. Trump and the Russian leader agreed to earlier at their Helsinki summit. Republican leaders in Congress said Mr. Putin wouldn’t be welcome on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday [7-25-18], the White House said Mr. Trump wouldn’t hold another official bilateral meeting with Mr. Putin until next year, citing the ongoing special-counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.”
–Rebecca Ballhaus, “Trump ‘Open to Visiting Moscow’ if Formally Invited, White House Says,” The Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2018 11:39 am