The Kremlin confirmed on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted a portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump, which he personally commissioned.
Putin presented the painting to Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, earlier this month in Moscow, as reported by the Russian president’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov. Peskov responded to a journalist’s inquiry but declined to provide further details.
The gift was first revealed last week when Witkoff mentioned it during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Witkoff shared that Trump “was clearly touched” by the portrait, describing it as “beautiful.”
Witkoff had met with Putin following discussions with Russian officials aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine. Ceasefire talks were ongoing in Saudi Arabia on Monday, where U.S. representatives engaged with Russian counterparts, a day after talks with Ukrainian negotiators.
During his conversation with Carlson, Witkoff referred to Putin’s gift as “gracious,” recalling how the Russian leader expressed his concern for Trump when he heard about the shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania last year. Witkoff recounted how Putin had said he prayed for Trump, calling him “his friend.”
In 2018, Putin had also gifted then-President Trump a soccer ball, which the Secret Service inspected for potential surveillance devices before Trump gave it to his son. This cautious measure mirrored an earlier Soviet-era incident where a gift to a U.S. diplomat was later found to contain a bug.
The current portrait’s potential for surveillance was not immediately clear, and the White House has not yet commented on the gift.
Trump is not the first sitting U.S. president to receive a gift from Putin. In 2021, during a summit in Geneva, Switzerland, Putin gave President Joe Biden a lacquered writing box and pen worth $12,000. In 2013, Putin sent President Barack Obama porcelain plates and espresso cups.
This is also not the first portrait Putin has sent to a U.S. leader. In 2014, he reportedly gifted a portrait of former President George H.W. Bush for his 90th birthday.
Emma Burrows, Associated Press