Putin invites Trump to Moscow as new allegations emerge about 2016 meeting
Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Donald Trump to Moscow and both men want further summits, despite the backlash the US President faced when the pair met in Helsinki last week.
Speaking to reporters in South Africa, where he was attending a summit of Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations, Putin said another meeting was still on the agenda, despite both sides appearing to back away from such suggestions after it prompted anger.
“Regarding our meetings, I understand very well what President Trump said. He has a desire to have further meetings,” Putin said. “I am ready for that. We need for the appropriate conditions to exist, to be created, including in our countries.
“We are ready for such meetings. We are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow. Be my guest. He has such an invitation, I told him that.”
Putin added: “I am ready to go to Washington. I repeat once again, if the right conditions for work are created.”
In the meantime the pair may meet at the next G20, which takes place in Argentina this November.
But Trump's press conference, in which he suggested that he believed Putin's claims that Russian had no involvement in the US election, sparked anger and frustration even among Republicans. It led to him reading out a clarification in which he said he had misspoken, mixing up the word "would" with "wouldn't".
Today Trump was fighting allegations that he knew about a meeting between Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and the then-presidential candidate's son Donald Jr, son-in-law Jared Kushner and his top campaign official Paul Manafort at Trump Tower.
Veselnitskaya had said she was offering information about rival Hillary Clinton from the Russian government aimed at helping Trump to victory.
The president, his son, his lawyers and other administration officials have repeatedly said Trump did not know about the meeting until news of it broke in July 2017.
But multiple reports claim his former lawyer Michael Cohen — who is under federal investigation — has said he was present when Donald Jr told his father about the Russian offer to meet, and that Trump approved.
"I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr," Trump tweeted today. "Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam."
….,the only Collusion with Russia was with the Democrats, so now they are looking at my Tweets (along with 53 million other people) – the rigged Witch Hunt continues! How stupid and unfair to our Country….And so the Fake News doesnt waste my time with dumb questions, NO,….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2018
…..I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr. Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?). He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillarys lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2018
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