International security

Trump proposed Putin visit White House in March 20 phone call, Kremlin says

President Trump proposed meeting Vladimir Putin at the White House in a March phone call, the Kremlin said Monday, a fresh revelation about a conversation that stirred controversy for its friendly tone toward the Russian leader amid mounting tensions with the West. 

After the March 20 phone call — in which Trump congratulated Putin for a reelection victory in a vote widely criticized as not free and fair — Trump said that the two leaders had discussed plans for a possible meeting.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that “a number of potential venues, including the White House,” were discussed for the summit. 

A Kremlin aide, Yury Ushakov, disclosed the White House invitation in comments to Russian journalists on Monday. But he added that no preparations for such a meeting have taken place since the March 20 phone call, according to Russian news agencies.

Relations between Moscow and the West have been in a free fall since the nerve agent poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Britain March 4. British authorities have linked the attack to Russia, setting in motion tit-for-tat actions that have included expulsions of Russian diplomats from United States, the Europe Union and elsewhere.