SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
President Donald Trump chats with Russia's President Vladimir Putin as they attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang on Nov. 11, 2017. (Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images)
Trump Pitched Putin White House Visit During Most Recent Phone Call
Both the Trump administration and Kremlin confirm a U.S. visit was discussed last month
Apr 02, 2018
Though it occured before last month's "tit-for-tat" announcements that Russian diplomats would be expelled from U.S. and vice versa, both the Kremlin and the Trump administration on Monday confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of an in-person meeting, with Trump reportedly putting forward the idea of a White House summit.
Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters in Moscow on Monday that Trump initiated the idea of a White House meeting, saying, "During a telephone conversation between our presidents, Trump suggested that the first meeting could be held in Washington."
Ushakov, according to the TASS news agency, said that since the call took place on March 20, no specific plans have come together.
"After the conversation," he said, "which was constructive and business-like and touched upon many issues, there was another breakdown in our bilateral relations, 60 diplomats were expelled, our consulate was closed and Russia had to give a tit-for-tat response to that."
Given the recent fallout between the two nations--that stems mostly from the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the U.K. last month--Ushakov said it would "be difficult to discuss a summit" at this point, but added that the Russian government's position is that a Trump-Putin meeting "would be rather important and beneficial for both countries, as well as for the entire global community."
Though she did not eloborate with any details, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed in a statement that such a meeting was discussed on the call and that the White House was put forth as a possible location.
"As the President himself confirmed on 20 March, hours after his last call with President Putin, the two had discussed a bilateral meeting in the 'not-too-distant future' at a number of potential venues, including the White House," Huckabee Sanders said in the statement. "We have nothing further to add at this time."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Though it occured before last month's "tit-for-tat" announcements that Russian diplomats would be expelled from U.S. and vice versa, both the Kremlin and the Trump administration on Monday confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of an in-person meeting, with Trump reportedly putting forward the idea of a White House summit.
Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters in Moscow on Monday that Trump initiated the idea of a White House meeting, saying, "During a telephone conversation between our presidents, Trump suggested that the first meeting could be held in Washington."
Ushakov, according to the TASS news agency, said that since the call took place on March 20, no specific plans have come together.
"After the conversation," he said, "which was constructive and business-like and touched upon many issues, there was another breakdown in our bilateral relations, 60 diplomats were expelled, our consulate was closed and Russia had to give a tit-for-tat response to that."
Given the recent fallout between the two nations--that stems mostly from the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the U.K. last month--Ushakov said it would "be difficult to discuss a summit" at this point, but added that the Russian government's position is that a Trump-Putin meeting "would be rather important and beneficial for both countries, as well as for the entire global community."
Though she did not eloborate with any details, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed in a statement that such a meeting was discussed on the call and that the White House was put forth as a possible location.
"As the President himself confirmed on 20 March, hours after his last call with President Putin, the two had discussed a bilateral meeting in the 'not-too-distant future' at a number of potential venues, including the White House," Huckabee Sanders said in the statement. "We have nothing further to add at this time."
Though it occured before last month's "tit-for-tat" announcements that Russian diplomats would be expelled from U.S. and vice versa, both the Kremlin and the Trump administration on Monday confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of an in-person meeting, with Trump reportedly putting forward the idea of a White House summit.
Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters in Moscow on Monday that Trump initiated the idea of a White House meeting, saying, "During a telephone conversation between our presidents, Trump suggested that the first meeting could be held in Washington."
Ushakov, according to the TASS news agency, said that since the call took place on March 20, no specific plans have come together.
"After the conversation," he said, "which was constructive and business-like and touched upon many issues, there was another breakdown in our bilateral relations, 60 diplomats were expelled, our consulate was closed and Russia had to give a tit-for-tat response to that."
Given the recent fallout between the two nations--that stems mostly from the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the U.K. last month--Ushakov said it would "be difficult to discuss a summit" at this point, but added that the Russian government's position is that a Trump-Putin meeting "would be rather important and beneficial for both countries, as well as for the entire global community."
Though she did not eloborate with any details, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed in a statement that such a meeting was discussed on the call and that the White House was put forth as a possible location.
"As the President himself confirmed on 20 March, hours after his last call with President Putin, the two had discussed a bilateral meeting in the 'not-too-distant future' at a number of potential venues, including the White House," Huckabee Sanders said in the statement. "We have nothing further to add at this time."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.