By EMMA BURROWS, Associated Press The Kremlin confirmed Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted to Donald Trump a portrait he commissioned of the U.S. president. Putin gave the painting to Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow earlier this month, the Russian president’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said in a response to a journalist’s question, declining further comment. The gift was first mentioned last week by Witkoff in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Witkoff told Carlson that Trump “was clearly touched” by the portrait, which he described as “beautiful.” Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy, speaks during a television interview outside the White House, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Witkoff met Putin after talks with Russian officials about trying to end the war in Ukraine. Ceasefire talks continued Monday in Saudi Arabia, where U.S. officials met their Russian counterparts, a day after meeting with Ukrainian negotiators. During his interview with Carlson, Witkoff described Putin’s gift as “gracious” and recalled how Putin told him he had prayed for Trump last year when he heard the then-candidate for the U.S. presidency had been shot at a rally in Pennsylvania. “He was praying for his friend,” Witkoff said, recounting Putin’s comments. In 2018, Putin gave then-President Trump a soccer ball that the Secret Service had checked for listening devices before Trump gave it to his son — a precaution that hearkened back to a Soviet-era gift to a U.S. diplomat that turned out to be bugged. Related Articles Portugal intercepts a semi-submersible vessel loaded with cocaine Israeli strikes in southwestern Syria kill 6 people as troops clash with residents This Ramadan, relief and hope bump against violence and uncertainty in the new Syria How a shelter hit by Trump’s aid cuts protects LGBTQ migrants in Mexico Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD reports 2024 revenue over $100B, topping Tesla’s sales In 1945, a carving of the Great Seal of the United States was given as a gift from Soviet school children to then-U.S. Ambassador Averell Harriman. It hung in his office for six years allowing the Soviet Union to eavesdrop on his conversations until the State Department discovered that it contained a covert listening device. It was not immediately known if the portrait Putin gave to Trump had been examined for bugs. The White House hasn’t commented on the portrait. Trump isn’t the first sitting president to receive a gift from Putin. In 2021, Putin gave then-President Joe Biden a $12,000 lacquer writing box and pen when they met at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2013, he reportedly sent then-President Barack Obama porcelain plates and espresso cups. This apparently isn’t the first portrait of a U.S. leader Putin has sent, either. In 2014, the Russia president reportedly sent to George H.W. Bush a portrait of the former president on his 90th birthday. ...read more read less