July 19, 2018•Update: July 20, 2018
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington this fall for another round of summit talks.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Twitter that Trump agreed with Putin "to ongoing dialogue" between the U.S. and Russian security council staffs, and personally asked his national security advisor, John Bolton, to invite the Russian leader to Washington.
Discussions for the meeting "are already underway," Sanders said.
It is unclear when the offer was made, or if Putin has accepted.
The announcement apparently caught Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats off-guard during a national security summit in Aspen, Colorado.
"Okay, that's going to be special," he said after asking for the moderator to repeat the announcement.
Trump earlier Thursday said he was looking forward to meeting with Putin after boasting that their first sit-down in Helsinki, Finland "was a great success."
Among the Trump said he and Putin would discuss at their next meeting are Ukraine, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cyber attacks, Middle East peace and North Korea.
"There are many answers, some easy and some hard, to these problems...but they can ALL be solved!" Trump exclaimed on Twitter.
Their first meeting, however, has stirred condemnation from Democrats and Republicans alike over a series of comments Trump made that appeared to place him unduly close to Russia.
At issue are his comments about Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 White House race and initial praise for an interview exchange proposal Putin offered.
After the White House said Wednesday Trump and his senior officials are reviewing the idea, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump "disagrees" with the initiative "that was made in sincerity" by Putin.
Putin offered to allow 12 Russian intelligence officers to be interviewed in exchange for allowing Moscow to interview American officials its accuses of various crimes.
The 12 alleged Russian spies were indicted last week by a grand jury on charges of hacking related to the 2016 presidential campaign. They are allegedly agents of Russia's main intelligence directorate, the GRU.
During the summit, Trump called Putin's proposal an "incredible offer" during a summit with Putin in Finland that has stirred significant controversy back home.
