U.S. President Donald Trump, during a telephone call on March 20, proposed a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the White House, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday.

"If everything goes well, I hope the Americans will not give up their proposal to discuss the possibility of holding a summit," TASS news agency quoted Ushakov as saying.

On March 20, Trump congratulated Putin on his victory in the March 18 presidential election. During the telephone conversation, the two leaders paid "special attention to the possibility of organizing a top-level meeting," according to a Kremlin transcript then.

Trump told reporters on the same day that he intended to meet Putin "in the not too distant future."

However, according to Ushakov, the prospects of organizing the summit have not been discussed since then.

Last week, Washington expelled 60 Russian diplomats and closed the Russian consulate in Seattle in a concerted action with Britain and other Western nations over an ex-spy poisoning case.

Moscow retaliated with the expulsion of an equal number of U.S. diplomats and the closure of the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg.

"Against the background of these events, of course, it is difficult to discuss holding the summit," Ushakov said, adding that Russia still considers the meeting very important and necessary for both countries and the entire international community.

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