Photo: Alexei Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images
On Friday night, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told a gala crowd the story of how Vladimir Putin pocketed his Super Bowl ring during a visit to Russia in 2005, and the Bush administration’s subsequent request that he not try to retrieve it because doing so might damage “US-Soviet relations.” Word of Kraft’s displeasure has reached Russia, and on Sunday Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the claim. “What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird,” he said. “I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift.” The jewelry has been stored in the Kremlin library, “where all official state gifts are kept,” and it seems that is where it will remain. Sorry, Robert Kraft.
