Russian envoy: Moscow open to Putin visit to Washington

MOSCOW — Russia's ambassador to the US says Moscow is ready to discuss a possible visit by President Vladimir Putin to Washington after an invitation from US President Donald Trump.

Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said Friday that Russia "was always open to such proposals. We are ready for discussions on this subject."However he noted that it is up to the Kremlin to formally respond. The Kremlin has not commented on Trump's proposal Thursday.

And Antonov also said that it's important to "deal with the results" of the two men's summit in Helsinki this week before moving ahead too fast with another meeting.

Antonov said that Putin and Trump discussed a possible referendum in eastern Ukraine.

He told a conference in Moscow that "this issue was discussed" and that Putin made "concrete proposals" to Trump on finding solutions to the Ukraine conflict. Antonov would not give further details of what was discussed at the Helsinki summit about Ukraine.

Trump tweeted that the two men discussed Ukraine but has not mentioned a referendum or revealed specifics of the Ukraine discussions.

Concerns have been raised in the US about what the two presidents discussed at their meeting.

He also reiterated denials of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.

AP