US President Donald Trump’s intention to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington signals a potential improvement of bilateral relations, Sputnik reported citing former adviser to President Ronald Reagan on the Soviet Union Suzanne Massie.
"I am completely supportive. It is important now, and it is a very good sign… I cannot predict the situation in Washington, but I think it is a very good step that President Trump has taken," Massie said.
Massie, who consulted Reagan during negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, said it was "time for the American people to see Putin."
Commenting on the recent summit in Helsinki, Massie said that she was disappointed with the negative reaction in the United States.
"I think, the summit was a good step. I have always said that it is important for Russia and the United States to find a way to work together," she stressed.
Trump said on July 19 that he looked forward to his next meeting with Putin so that the two heads of state could begin to implement the ideas they had discussed during the Helsinki summit.
On the same day, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that Trump had asked his National Security Adviser John Bolton to invite Putin to the United States this fall, adding the consultations on the issue had already started.
Trump and Putin met for their first official summit in Helsinki, Finland on July 16.
The two presidents had a one-on-one private conversation followed by an expanded meeting. The two leaders discussed the Syrian refugee crisis, the situation in Ukraine, nuclear proliferation and Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.
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