White House: Trump Welcomes Official Invitation to Visit Moscow

On Friday, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, stated that he would like to invite Donald Trump, the President of the United States, to visit Moscow under suitable conditions. The White House responded by saying that Donald Trump welcomes this invitation. According to Reuters, Putin, speaking in Johannesburg, South Africa, said that a meeting with the U.S. President requires the establishment of 'suitable conditions.' He emphasized that for a meeting between the leaders of the two countries, 'suitable conditions' must be created, including in his own country. Putin clarified that Moscow is ready to host Donald Trump as his guest and that he has personally invited him. The White House stated that Trump is looking forward to meeting with President Putin in the first month of the upcoming year and welcomes the formal invitation to visit Moscow. In this context, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis also mentioned on Friday that he is considering a meeting with his Russian counterpart, noting that there have been no meetings between the defense ministers of the two countries in recent years. However, Mattis specified that no decision has been made on this matter yet. The meeting between the U.S. and Russian Presidents, which took place on July 16 in Helsinki, Finland, faced criticism from several Democratic and Republican politicians and the media. Critics accused Trump of undermining the credibility of U.S. intelligence agencies regarding Moscow's 'interference' in the presidential elections. However, Trump stated on July 26 that he accepts the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion regarding Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election but emphasized that this interference did not affect the election's outcome.