Putin says he invited Trump to meet in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said he has invited President Trump to Moscow for a meeting.

“We are ready for such meetings, we are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow. He has this invitation already and I told him about it,” Putin said at the BRICs summit in Johannesburg, according to multiple reports.

He added that there “has to be necessary conditions” for the meeting to take place.

The invitation comes days after the Kremlin said it was not ready to accept Trump’s invitation to Washington, and the White House said Trump would not meet with Putin until next year, citing special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

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The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

Putin also praised Trump, calling his willingness to keep his campaign promises to voters as a “great virtue.”

“You can critique him for what he does and many people do that but one thing is clear — he is willing to fulfill his campaign promises,” Putin said.

Trump and Putin met in Helsinki earlier this month — a summit that raised questions over Trump’s handling of Russia after he appeared to side with Putin’s denials of Russian election interference at a press conference following the meeting.

Trump later walked back the comments, saying he believed Russia had interfered in the election, but rattled some lawmakers with the White House’s announcement that Putin had been invited to Washington, D.C., this fall for a second meeting.

The White House scrapped plans for Washington summit one day after a Russian official said the country was not ready to accept Trump’s invitation.

“The president believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we’ve agreed that it will be after the first of the year,” national security adviser John Bolton said Wednesday.

Putin on Friday indicated he is open to visiting Washington.

Updated at 9:35 a.m.