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Trump highly appreciated the puck given by Putin, American producer told TASS

Chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts Rodney Mims Cook Jr. presented President Trump with the hockey puck from Vladimir Putin, Stephen Mao said

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump was "incredibly amused" and highly appreciated the hockey puck given to him by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, American producer and president of Studio Mao, Stephen Mao, told TASS in an interview.

According to him, the head of the American delegation at the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026), which took place on June 3-6, Chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts Rodney Mims Cook Jr., met with Trump a week after the trip to Russia.

"Rodney presented President Trump with the hockey puck from Vladimir Putin. And the president was incredibly amused, really appreciated the gesture. And, following that, President Trump and President Putin spoke on the telephone, as you probably have seen reported, for over an hour and a half, to talk about communications and bilateral negotiations," Mao said, referring to the telephone conversation on June 14.

The producer expressed hope that "there will be some positive results from next week's meeting, and [the work] will continue." "It is a great start, and we can hopefully be optimistic that Rodney and the president will be able to advance the process towards peace," he added.

Mao emphasized that Cook Jr. enjoys the trust of President Trump and, in his opinion, is also trusted by the Russian people. In his view, Rodney is capable of playing a more active and possibly official role, going beyond the cultural projects he is currently involved in.

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