President Donald Trump turned heads Friday after revealing a photo he says Russian President Vladimir Putin sent him — a snapshot of the two leaders standing together during last week’s meeting in Alaska.
Inside the Oval Office, Trump proudly displayed the image while announcing that Washington, D.C., will host the 2026 World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center.
“I just got this picture from someone who really wants to be here,” Trump told reporters with a grin. “He’s shown great respect for me and for our country — though not so much for others.”
Holding up the photo for cameras, Trump added, “I’m going to sign this for him. I figured you’d like to see it. That’s Vladimir Putin, a man who may or may not be coming depending on how things go. We’ve got a lot happening in the next couple of weeks.”
Trump continued, calling the shot “a nice picture of him” before joking, “It’s okay of me, but great of him.”
The reveal comes at a pivotal moment in international diplomacy. Peace negotiations, which seemed to gain momentum earlier this week, are now showing signs of slowing down.
Just last Friday, Trump hosted Putin in Anchorage for their first face-to-face meeting since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Days later, the president welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a group of European leaders to the White House, signaling a push for progress on talks.
Trump even announced plans to facilitate a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Zelensky. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed that Putin had agreed in principle to meet Zelensky “in the coming weeks.”
However, on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cast doubt on that timeline. Lavrov stated: “Putin is ready to meet when a summit agenda is ready — and right now, that agenda is not ready at all.”
Lavrov also made it clear Moscow expects to be included in any post-war security guarantees for Ukraine, dismissing NATO discussions with the U.S. on the issue as “futile.”
When asked about a recent Russian strike on Ukraine that damaged an American electronics manufacturer, Trump didn’t hold back.
“I’m not happy about it. I’m not happy about anything related to that war,” the president said. “We’ll see what happens over the next two weeks. It’s going to be very important. We’ll know which way this is going — and I better be very happy.”
Trump hinted that his next move could include “massive sanctions, massive tariffs, or both.” But he didn’t rule out doing nothing, saying, “Or we step back and say, ‘It’s your fight.’”