Merkel calls Trump-Putin talks as ‘good for all’

Speaking at her regular summer news conference in Berlin on Friday, Merkel added that meetings between the US and Russian presidents should "return to normality."

"That talks are held is basically good for all, in particular between these two countries," Merkel said.

The US president invited his Russian counterpart to Washington, adding fuel to a hailstorm of criticism over his administration’s relations with Moscow.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Thursday that the president has asked his national security adviser John Bolton to invite Putin.

The US and Russian presidents on Monday hailed their much anticipated summit in Helsinki, saying they would build up on the meeting to have more dialogue in the future.

“This was a very constructive day, a very constructive few hours we spent together,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Putin after the meeting. “I’m sure we’ll be meeting again in the future, often.”

President Trump said he hopes for an "extraordinary relationship" with President Putin ahead of their historic one-on-one meeting.

"Most importantly we have a lot of good things to talk about," Trump said after opening his remarks in Helsinki.

The US president said he and Putin would talk about "everything from trade to military to missiles to China.”

Trump is planning to host Putin for talks in Washington later this year, after a first bilateral meeting in Helsinki.

The talks in the Finnish capital were closed-door without the presence of anybody but interpreters.

On Thursday, Trump said he held talks with Putin about a variety of issues, including "stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear proliferation, cyber attacks, trade, Ukraine, Middle East peace, North Korea and more."

Putin was last invited to the White House in 2005 by then-President George W. Bush, while former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Washington in 2010.

KD