White House included in 'potential venues' for discussed Trump-Putin meeting

WASHINGTON - The White House said on Monday that US President Donald Trump has discussed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a recent phone call about a meeting at several "potential venues" including the White House.

In the last call between Trump and Putin on March 20, "the two had discussed a bilateral meeting in the 'not-too-distant future' at a number of potential venues, including the White House," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders in a statement.

The Kremlin said on Monday that Trump, during the phone call, proposed a meeting with Putin at the White House.

However, the prospects of organizing the summit have not been discussed since then, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.

"If everything goes well, I hope the Americans will not give up their proposal to discuss the possibility of holding a summit," TASS news agency quoted Ushakov as saying.

Days after the Trump-Putin meeting proposal, relationship between Washington and Moscow has plunged to a new low, as the United States expelled 60 Russian diplomats and closed the Russian consulate in Seattle in a concerted action with Britain and other Western nations over an ex-spy poisoning case.

Moscow retaliated with the expulsion of an equal number of US diplomats and the closure of the US consulate in St. Petersburg, a move the Washington saw as marking "a further deterioration" in the US-Russia relations.

"Against the background of these events, of course, it is difficult to discuss holding the summit," Ushakov said.