MOSCOW: Donald Trump wishes to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin when the two visit Paris on November 11 for World War I commemorations, the US president´s National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Tuesday.
“I think President Trump will look forward to seeing you in Paris on the sidelines of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Armistice,” Bolton told Putin in televised remarks as the two met for talks in Moscow.
Putin said: “It would be useful to continue a direct dialogue with the president of the United States… for example in Paris, if the American side is interested.
“It is possible and necessary to find points of convergence,” Putin said, adding that trade between the two countries had actually grown despite sanctions.
Both leaders will be in Paris for the November 11 World War I commemorations, which 60 heads of state and government are expected to attend.
Trump and Putin held their first bilateral summit in Helsinki in July, after which the US president came under strong criticism at home for adopting a very conciliatory tone with his Russian counterpart.
“It was for me a meeting that was useful and sometimes quite tough. But finally it was constructive,” said Putin of the Helsinki meeting.
“Honestly speaking, we are sometimes surprised to see that the United States sometimes takes absolutely unjustified measures against Russia which we can´t call friendly,” he said.
“We hardly strike back… but this continues again and again.”
Bolton met Monday with several senior Russian officials before his talks with Putin.
His visit comes after Trump announced that the United States would pull out of the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) signed by president Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader.