7 January 2017, 15:36 GMT
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov answered a similar question and said that such a meeting would be possible only after Trump's inauguration on January 20.
"President [Barack] Obama has met with President Putin a number of times, so I think it’s entirely appropriate that the president of the United States would meet with the president of Russia," Earnest told reporters.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told RIA Novosti that a possible meeting between the Russian and US leaders requires thorough preparation.
Trump has repeatedly signaled willingness to normalize US relations with Russia after the bilateral ties deteriorated under US President Barack Obama.
