A Russian legislator has ridiculed the UK and other European nations following Donald Trump’s display of a picture featuring himself and Vladimir Putin in the White House.

Trump exhibited the photo from their summit in Alaska last August in a corridor connecting the West Wing to the residence, alongside another image of him with his granddaughter at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

The placement of the Putin picture prompted Mark Warner, a Democratic senator, to criticize Trump for prioritizing Putin over the American people and his family.

In Russia, the gesture was positively received, with lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlev stating that the presence of the joint photo signifies respectful relations, contrasting with the absence of images of European leaders in the White House.

Zhuravlev, a Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on defense, remarked that Trump’s action reflects his desire to emulate the Russian president as a renowned land collector, though he has yet to make similar acquisitions for the United States.

The meeting between Putin and Trump in Anchorage, depicted in the framed picture, is significant in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, marking Putin’s first visit to a western nation since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Zhuravlev also drew attention by commenting on Russia’s use of new hypersonic, nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles in strikes on Ukraine’s Lviv region, emphasizing Moscow’s advanced military capabilities.