Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted a personal portrait to US President Donald Trump through a diplomatic channel, Kremlin and White House sources confirmed, BBC reported on 25 March.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the portrait as a “personal gift” and noted that only Putin could disclose more information. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy who recently met Putin, transported the painting back to Washington.
Witkoff characterized the portrait as a “beautiful” work by a “leading Russian artist”. He added that Trump was “clearly touched by it”. During their recent meeting, Putin reportedly told Witkoff that he had prayed for Trump after last year’s assassination attempt.
The gift comes amid ongoing diplomatic negotiations between the US and Russia, specifically talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at freezing the war in Ukraine.
Trump publicly criticized a different portrait of himself in the Colorado State Capitol. He described the painting as “purposefully distorted”, contrasting it with a portrait of former President Barack Obama, which he praised as looking “wonderful”.
The Colorado portrait, created by artist Sarah Boardman, was removed by a bipartisan committee following Trump’s critique. The painting was originally commissioned through a crowdfunding campaign to fill an empty space in the capitol building.
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