Posted on 06/29/2005 9:09:40 PM PDT by Destro
Patriots owner says Super Bowl ring was gift to Putin
The Associated Press
June 29. 2005 6:04PM
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the 2005 Super Bowl Ring he handed to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday was a gift.
"I showed the president my most recent Super Bowl ring," Kraft said in a statement released Wednesday. The Russian president "was clearly taken with its uniqueness," Kraft said.
"At that point, I decided to give him the ring as a symbol of the respect and admiration that I have for the Russian people and the leadership of President Putin," Kraft said.
At the end of the three-hour meeting of American business executives and Putin at Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg, Russia, Kraft took off the ring, and handed it to Putin. Putin tried it on, put it in his pocket and left, according to Russian news reports.
The incident sparked Russian media speculation that Kraft hadn't meant to give away the ring, which is encrusted with 124 diamonds.
A senior Kremlin official, Dmitry Peskov, told The Associated Press Putin had given the ring to the Kremlin library where other foreign gifts are kept.
According to Patriots spokesman Stacey James, the ring has a value of "substantially more" than the previously reported $15,000.
Kraft's business interests include paper and packaging companies and venture capital investments. He handed out Super Bowl rings to players and coaches at his home two weeks ago.
The Patriots have won three of the last four Super Bowls.
Doesn't Russia have the Euro now? I wonder how many Euros make $15,000?
NOT YET they want join EU NOT YET right now with EU is getting its a** kick in election results I doubt Russians want join it
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