The White House says President Donald Trump wants Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to Washington.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday that President Trump asked national security adviser John Bolton to extend the invitation. The announcement came less than an hour after the Senate unanimously shot down a reported Russian proposal to question U.S. officials.
The White House said it's aiming for a fall meeting. The visit would follow Trump and Putin's controversial summit in Helsinki, at which Trump openly doubted Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
If the Putin visit ends up happening, it would be his first trip to the White House since 2005, when U.S.-Russia relations were much less contentious.
