Vladimir Putin invited to visit Washington in early 2019, says US National Security Advisor

Washington, Oct 26: US President Donald Trump's national security advisor, John Bolton, on Friday said the White House has formally invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington in early 2019.

"We have invited President Putin to Washington after the first of the year for, basically, a full day of consultations." He says no date has been set. Bolton noted that Putin and US President Donald Trump are set to meet in Paris when they attend November 11 events marking 100 years since Armistice Day.

Putin and Trump have met several times on the sidelines of multilateral gatherings, but had only one bilateral summit, in the Finnish capital in July. After that encounter, Trump was accused by opponents, and even some members of his own Republican Party, of failing to stand up to the Russian leader.

Trump and Putin also plan to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of events in Paris on November 11 to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War One. Bolton, who was speaking at a news conference on a visit to ex-Soviet Georgia, said their Paris meeting would be brief.