MOSCOW • The Kremlin says it is ready to discuss the possibility of a summit in Washington next year between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Mr Donald Trump.

"Undoubtedly (we are) ready," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists after US National Security Adviser John Bolton told Russia's Interfax news agency that such a summit was possible. He confirmed that the issue has been raised but that "so far there is no concrete decision on this".

The Kremlin is preparing for a "possible meeting" between the two leaders at an event in Paris on Nov 11 commemorating the centenary of the end of World War I, Mr Peskov said.

Mr Bolton, who arrived in Moscow on Sunday and held talks with Mr Putin and other Russian officials, told Interfax in an interview published yesterday that Washington expected the two leaders to discuss in Paris a possible summit in Washington next year, after which Mr Trump could visit Moscow.

Mr Bolton's visit came just after Mr Trump said the US would pull out of a Cold War-era nuclear weapons treaty. Asked if the Kremlin wanted to continue talks with the US on the treaty, Mr Peskov said that "as far as we understand, the American side has taken the decision and is formalising in the near future the process of withdrawing from this treaty".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE