Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump hopes to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin in Washington this fall, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Thursday.

"President Trump asked (national security adviser John Bolton) to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway," Sanders tweeted Thursday, hours after Trump tweeted he is "looking forward" to meeting again with Putin to "begin implementing" issues they discussed during their summit earlier this week.

The invitation was extended to Putin by Bolton earlier on Thursday, according to a National Security Council spokesman.

The pair of tweets were the latest indication that Trump is doubling down on his Russian rapprochement strategy even as his approach to Putin continues to draw bipartisan criticism and questions abound as to what Trump and Putin agreed to during their first meeting.

The Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said he still does not know what Trump and Putin discussed on Monday and was caught off-guard during an interview Thursday by news that Trump and Putin were planning a second meeting in Washington this fall.

Read More