Putin, Afghans among top gift givers to Bidens in 2021

BY MATTHEW LEE
AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia’s president and the deposed leader of Afghanistan were among the top gift givers to President Joe Biden and his family in 2021, according to federal documents. In happier times between all three countries, Vladimir Putin gave Biden a $12,000 lacquer writing box and pen when they met in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2021. And, former Afghan President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani and his wife gave the U.S. president and first lady Jill Biden silk rugs worth an estimated $28,800 later that month. Relations between the U.S. and Russia turned sour shortly after the Geneva meeting and Ghani fled Afghanistan shortly after the U.S. withdrew from the country in August.