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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS owner Robert Kraft claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin stole his 2004 Super Bowl ring on a visit to Russia in 2005, The New York Post reports.

From The Post:

“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 told the crowd at Carnegie Hall’s Medal of Excellence gala at the Waldorf-Astoria.“I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.”

At the time Kraft said he gave the ring, which is worth more than $25,000, to Putin as “a symbol of the respect and admiration that I have for the Russian people and [his] leadership.”

He now claims that he wanted it back, but then-President Bush persuaded him to drop the issue.

“It would really be in the best interest of U.S.-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present,” Bush said, according to Kraft.

After Kraft explained that he had an emotional attachment to the ring, Bush reportedly paused and then said: “It would really be in the best interest if you meant to give the ring as a present.” Wow.

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