Trump's envoy reveals details of Putin meeting: gift exchange and Ukraine peace talks
In an official visit to Moscow on March 13, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steven Witkoff, revealed exclusive details to American journalist Tucker Carlson about his meeting with Vladimir Putin.
According to Witkoff, Putin presented Trump with a “touching gift” through a portrait commissioned from a "leading Russian artist." "This became a personal matter," Witkoff said. "It's a beautiful portrait of President Trump. He literally handed it to me and asked me to take it home to President Trump. I delivered it to him, and Trump was truly moved."
The identity of the artist remains undisclosed, yet Russian Academy of Arts academician Nikas Safronov suggested the portrait is an "invaluable piece of art".
During their meeting, Putin also expressed his deep concern for Trump during an attempted assassination last July. "He shared a story with me, Tucker, about how he went to his local church and met with his priest to pray for the president. Not because he became the President of the United States, but because they were friends, and he prayed for his friend," Witkoff recounted.
On the issue of peace in Ukraine, Witkoff emphasized that captured territories and the annexed Crimea are central to the peace discussions. He mentioned that the residents of occupied regions in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, along with annexed Crimea, reportedly want to remain under Russian control, as indicated by the "referendum" results held there.
However, the fate of these territories involves "constitutional issues" within Ukraine regarding whether concessions could be made for peace. "The question is whether the world will acknowledge these as Russian territories. Can Zelensky politically survive if he does so? This is the crux of the conflict," Witkoff stressed.
The envoy further noted that Ukrainian authorities agreed to hold presidential elections, and both President Volodymyr Zelensky and his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, have "largely acknowledged they will not become NATO members," even after the war concludes.