Russian President Vladimir Putin has told a press conference at the end of his visit to China that he is ready to meet with his US counterpart Donald Trump, TASS reported.
"As soon as it is possible," he said when asked about the meeting’s possible date. "The meeting will take place as soon as the US is ready, though my working schedule must also be taken into consideration," Putin added.
He pointed out that Trump himself "has many time said he believed such a meeting would be useful." "I confirm that it is so," Putin said, adding that during his latest telephone call with the US president in March, Trump had particularly expressed concern about a new round of arms race.
"I share his concern. In order to thoroughly discuss all that, our foreign ministries need to cooperate, as well as experts. And we also need to hold personal meetings," Putin noted.
The Russian leader added that he had not discussed with Trump any locations for a possible meeting. "However, many countries have expressed readiness to provide assistance, there particularly are some European countries, including Austria… However, this is a technical issue," Putin concluded, saying that if such a meeting took place it would be a substantive one.