1:03President Donald Trump displays a snapshot he says was forwarded by Russian President Vladimir Putin of the pair posing shoulder-to-shoulder during a visit to Alaska, within the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, August 22, 2025.Annabelle Gordon/EPA/Shutterstock
On Friday, President Donald Trump flashed a photograph—mailed, according to him, by Vladimir Putin—capturing their joint appearance a week earlier in Alaska.
During Oval Office remarks declaring that the 2026 World Cup draw will be staged in Washington at the Kennedy Center, the president held the image aloft.
“I just received this from a gentleman who clearly wishes to attend,” Trump remarked. “He’s shown me and our nation courtesy, though the same can’t always be said toward others.”
“I’ll autograph it for him,” Trump went on. “I figured you’d be interested, because it features Vladimir Putin—he might join us, contingent on the circumstances. A great deal will unfold in the upcoming two weeks.”
President Donald Trump holds a photo of him with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, August 22, 2025.Annabelle Gordon/EPA/Shutterstock
“It’s a flattering shot of him—passable of me, excellent of him. I appreciated the gesture,” Trump added.
His remarks followed signs that the diplomatic momentum triggered by Trump’s whirlwind week may be losing speed.
Last Friday, Trump welcomed Putin to Anchorage for discussions—the Russian leader’s first encounter with a U.S. president since invading Ukraine. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, plus several European leaders, arrived at the White House.
That evening, the president revealed he was setting up a one-on-one between Putin and Zelenskyy. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated on Tuesday that the Kremlin had pledged such a summit within weeks.
Yet on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov contradicted the plan, telling NBC News that no session is scheduled. “Putin is willing to meet Zelenskyy as soon as an agenda is drawn up—and that agenda is nowhere near finished,” Lavrov said.
In addition, Lavrov insisted Moscow must participate in any post-war security guarantees for Kyiv, branding this week’s NATO-U.S. talks on the matter “pointless.”
After referencing the Putin photograph, reporters asked the president about a fresh Russian strike that damaged a Ukrainian electronics plant owned by an American firm.
“I explained my displeasure—nothing about that war pleases me,” Trump responded.
“Not one aspect of this conflict satisfies me. We’ll see how events develop. I expect to know within the next fourteen days which direction this is heading—and I’d better be satisfied,” he warned.
The president reiterated that his course of action toward Russia and Ukraine will crystallize “in a fortnight.”
“It will be a pivotal choice: harsh penalties, steep tariffs, both, or simply walking away with ‘it’s your problem,’” Trump concluded.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
