Russian President Vladimir Putinis denying insinuations that he stole New England Patriotsowner Robert Kraft's Super Bowl ringthat's on display in the Kremlin, but says he's ready to buy him another ring as a gift.
Putin was reacting Sunday through a spokesman to a New York Poststory quoting remarks made by Kraft at an awards gala at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel last Thursday.
"I took out the ring and showed it to (Putin). And he put it on and he goes, 'I can kill someone with this ring,'" Kraft said, as quoted by the Post. "I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out."
The diamond-encrusted Super Bowl ring worth about $25,000 changed hands while Kraft was visiting St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2005 with an American business delegation that met Putin. At the time, Kraft had said he gave the ring to Putin as a gift.
But the Post story quoted Kraft as saying at Carnegie Hall's Medal of Excellence gala that he had an "emotional tie to the ring" and wanted it back, but the White House intervened and said it would be in the interest of U.S.-Russian relations to claim it was a gift.
Putin arrived in London on Sunday to meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron, and Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, was asked about the Post story.
"Back in 2005 I stood behind the president's back and I saw how that ring was presented to him. All that talk about some kind of pressure that was exerted on him (Kraft) should be the subject of a detailed talk with psychoanalysts, I think," Peskov told The Associated Press.
"At the same time, I am aware that this gentleman (Kraft) is feeling such a horrible pain about the 2005 loss," Peskov said. "The president will be ready to send him another ring as a gift, which he (Putin) can buy with his own money."
Stacey James, a spokesperson for the Kraft Group, the holding company for Kraft's business ventures, including the Patriots, said Sunday that the Post article shouldn't be taken too seriously.
"It's a humorous, anecdotal story that Robert retells for laughs," James said in a statement. "He loves that his ring is at the Kremlin, and, as he stated back in 2005, he continues to have great respect for Russia and the leadership of President Putin. In particular, he credits President Putin for modernizing the Russian economy. "
The statement said "an added benefit from the attention this story gathered eight years ago was the creation of some Patriots fan clubs in Russia."
The Super Bowl ring is on display in the Kremlin library along with other gifts to the Russian leader, according to Peskov.
Kraft can take some consolation because he has two other Super Bowlrings given to him for his team's other NFL championships.
美联社17日报道，俄罗斯总统普京否认偷窃超级杯戒指，但准备为原主另买一枚戒指，作为礼物回赠给他。
《纽约邮报》最近报道称，新英格兰州爱国者队老板罗伯特·克拉夫特日前在一次活动上发表讲话，称其在2005年接受普京接见期间失去一枚价值昂贵的超级杯戒指。
克拉夫特说：“‘我拿出戒指给（普京）看。他戴上后走了，”，“我向他伸出手，他把戒指装进了口袋，三个克格勃保镖簇拥着他扬长而去。”
这枚镶有钻石的超级杯戒指约值2.5万美元。2005年，克拉夫特随同一个美国代表团得到普京的接见，当时克拉夫特说，他是把这枚戒指作为礼物赠送给普京的。
但《纽约邮报》的报道引用克拉夫特的话称他“对这枚戒指很有感情”，希望拿回戒指，但白宫介入说把这枚戒指称作送给普京的礼物对美俄关系有利。
普京的发言人佩斯科夫6月16日对此表示：“2005年我就站在总统身后，我亲眼目睹了戒指是怎么交给他的。我想，他（克拉夫特）因为压力被迫交出戒指的所有说法，应该是心理分析专家谈论的题目。”
“我知道这位先生（克拉夫特）对2005年失去这枚戒指感到极为痛苦，”佩斯科夫说。“总统准备另送他一枚戒指作为礼物，他（普京）可以用自己的钱买。”
斯泰西·詹姆斯是克拉夫特集团发言人，她在16日说，不应该把《纽约邮报》的文章太当真。
“这是一则幽默的逸闻趣事，罗伯特讲给我们听是为了逗大家一笑，”詹姆斯在声明中说。“他很高兴他的戒指进入了克里姆林宫，正如他在2005年说过的那样，他一直非常尊重俄罗斯和普京总统。他称赞普京总统让俄罗斯经济现代化。”
这份声明表示爱国者别有收获——在俄罗斯建起了几家粉丝俱乐部。
据佩斯科夫说，超级杯戒指现在与其他赠送给俄罗斯领导人的礼物一起在克里姆林宫图书馆里陈列展出。
克拉夫特可以感到些安慰，因为他的球队赢得过另外两次全美橄榄球联盟杯赛，他还拥有两枚超级杯戒指。