Fifa World Cup: Vladimir Putin gives Donald Trump soccer ball at Helsinki summit – but US secret service makes the save
Republican Senator Lyndsey Graham says gift from Russian president at Finland meeting should be checked for listening devices and never allowed in the White House
Donald Trump has been pretty complimentary to Russia lately, including congratulating them in a tweet about hosting such a successful World Cup – and his kind words earned him the gift of an official tournament football from Vladimir Putin.
Used during all the matches at Russia 2018, which came to a conclusion with France’s victory in last Sunday’s final, the Russian president handed over the Adidas ball to his US counterpart, perhaps in a bid to lighten the mood at their post-summit news conference in Helsinki, Finland.
Trump and Putin had faced a bit of a grilling from journalists in the presidential palace, and a much bigger backlash from those watching back home, with a barrage of questions regarding the Kremlin’s interference in Trump’s 2016 election victory.
And Putin awkwardly changed the subject when asked whether the ball is “in the Russian court” regarding cooperative efforts in the Syrian war.
“Speaking about having the ball in our court in Syria, President Trump has just mentioned that we’ve successfully concluded the football World Cup,” Putin said.