During a phone call last month congratulating Vladimir Putin on his reelection, President Trump went so far as to float the idea the Russian president visit the White House for talks. That piece of information about Trump’s March 20th call that was made over the strenuous objections of his advisers had not previously been reported before a Russian official disclosed it to reporters in Moscow. “When our presidents spoke on the phone, it was Trump who proposed holding the first meeting in Washington, in the White House,” Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said. “If everything will be all right, I hope that the Americans will not back away from their own proposal to discuss the possibility of holding a summit.” The White House confirmed there was a discussion over setting up a meeting, but did not comment on whether it would be held at the White House. Putin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, however, said Ushakov’s account of the conversation was inaccurate.

Trump’s discordant offer looks particularly off-key given that the U.S. was, at the time, already involved in a burgeoning diplomatic spat with Russia over the March 4th poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the United Kingdom, which Western intelligence services have blamed on Moscow. Making the call appear even more amateurish, less than a week after the congratulatory conversation, the U.S. expelled 60 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the poisoning in England as part of an escalating diplomatic tit-for-tat with Moscow.

I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory (in past, Obama called him also). The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong! Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing....... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2018

.....They can help solve problems with North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, ISIS, Iran and even the coming Arms Race. Bush tried to get along, but didn’t have the “smarts.” Obama and Clinton tried, but didn’t have the energy or chemistry (remember RESET). PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2018

It seems like unusual timing for the president of the United States to offer Putin the reward of a White House visit, his first since 2005.