“I could kill someone with this ring.” When the Russian ‘Lord of the Rings’ spoke those words while admiring the 4.9 Karat diamond ring, the die was cast. It was now and forever would be – his.
Others who were present at that meeting eight years ago now agree that Patriots owner Robert Kraft had only shown the ring to Putin, who then tried it on and made the remark about it’s usefulness, then pocketed the ring, and strolled off while a cadre of KGB agents closed in around him. The official word from Russia was that the ring was a gift, and Putin is accustomed to receiving luxurious prezzies after all.
The New York Post chronicles the remorse felt by Kraft and his appeal to the White House – who give him firm ‘advice’ in return, as follows:
Kraft released a statement at the time, “President Putin, a great and knowledgeable sports fan, was clearly taken with its uniqueness. I decided to give him the ring as a symbol of the respect and admiration that I have for the Russian people and [his] leadership.
But Kraft really wanted the 4.94-carat bauble back, he said Thursday, admitting he’d gotten a call from the George W. Bush-run White House, saying, “‘It would really be in the best interest of US-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present.” (In fact the Soviet Union had collapsed 14 years earlier.)
But, Kraft said, “I really didn’t [want to]. I had an emotional tie to the ring, it has my name on it. I don’t want to see it on eBay. There was a pause on the other end of the line, and the voice repeated, ‘It would really be in the best interest if you meant to give the ring as a present.’ ” The ring is now reportedly kept in the Kremlin library.