File photo: Nikolai Patrushev, the Secretary of Russia's Security Council
Russia is preparing for a meeting of Russian Security Council Secretary cwith U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, Moscow said on Friday.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov was very cautious in announcing the meeting at a press conference in Moscow.
He said the agreement for the meeting was "perhaps the only agreement reached at the Helsinki summit" last week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
"We leave to the American side, in this case, the interpretation of which agreements were reached and which were not reached,” he said.
“But, for our part, we confirm that we are working on the prospect of such a meeting and hope that it can take place in the near future.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he had invited U.S. President Donald Trump to Moscow and that both he and Trump were ready for further summits, but that conditions needed to be right for a meeting to take place.Putin and Trump met in Helsinki earlier this month at a summit, but Trump faced a storm of criticism back home for his handling of the meeting.Speaking to reporters at a summit of BRICS countries in South Africa, Putin said telephone calls between Moscow and Washington were insufficient and that both sides needed to meet to talk about issues like the Iran nuclear deal, conflicts in the Middle East, and arms control treaties."Regarding our meetings, I understand very well what President Trump said. He has a desire to have further meetings, to hold further meetings. I am ready for that. We need for the appropriate conditions to exist, to be created, including in our countries," Putin told a news conference.Trump says did not know of 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians"We are ready for such meetings. We are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow. By all means. By the way, he has such an invitation, I told him about that.""I am ready to go to Washington. I repeat once again, if the right conditions for work are created."Putin said in the meantime, it was possible that he and Trump would meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, or another international event.In a reference to the backlash inside the United States after Trump's performance at the Helsinki summit, Putin said: "Despite the difficulties, in this particular case difficulties linked to the internal political situation in the United States, life goes on and our contacts continue."
Russia's Putin says he invited Trump to Moscow
The United States has opened a path for India to avoid sanctions for buying arms from Russia, business leaders and experts said, almost a year after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a law penalising such trade.India uses a large amount of Russian military equipment, from combat planes to ships and submarines, and is in the final stages of negotiating a $6 billion deal to buy S-400 long range surface to air missile systems from Russia.Under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) that Trump signed in August, any country trading with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors faces secondary sanctions.The law is designed to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, involvement in the Syrian civil war and meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.Germany hails US-EU trade reprieveBut the U.S. Congress reached an agreement this week laying out conditions under which Trump can seek a waiver for allies. The administration has to certify that a country is reducing arms imports from Russia and is expanding defence cooperation with the United States.India meets both those conditions, analysts and business leaders in New Delhi and Washington said.India's government declined immediate comment, and a defence official said the U.S. Congress had still to vote on the modifications to the legislation which would then be signed by Trump into law.Nisha Biswal, president of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), said the U.S. move would help protect its strategic relationship with India.US, EU reach trade pact after retaliatory tariffs"At a time when India is focusing on growing defence ties with the U.S., we applaud Congress for also focusing on protecting this strategic partnership," Biswal said.Jeff Smith, a south Asia expert at The Heritage Foundation, said the changes were a "meaningful and positive step forward"."It reduces the possibility an Indian arms purchase from Russia will trigger CAATSA sanctions, a situation both the administration and most of Capitol Hill are keen to avoid," he said.India has in recent years diversified its arms purchases, turning to the United States and Israel for modern equipment. It has ordered $15 billion of weapons from the U.S. over the past ten years and U.S. companies are bidding for contracts for fighter planes and helicopters worth billions of dollars. 
US opens way for India to escape sanctions over Russia arms imports
He added that he expected it to take place before summer ends.
He added that the possibility of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visiting Russia is not being discussed, but that Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov could meet on the sidelines of an international meeting.
Earlier today, Putin said he had invited Trump to come to Moscow, and the White House said Trump "looks forward to having" Putin in Washington some time in 2019.
The first summit between Putin and Trump took place this month in Helsinki. It was met by a widespread criticism in the U.S.