Moscow ( CNN ) -- Russia 's president is fighting back : No , he did not steal a Super Bowl ring . And no , he 's not rocking the diamond-encrusted prize on his finger , either . President Vladimir Putin 's spokesman denied that the leader kept a Super Bowl ring that New England Patriots ' owner Robert Kraft wanted back . Both sides agree that the ring , with its 124 diamonds , changed hands during Kraft 's visit to St. Petersburg , Russia , in 2005 . The New York Post reported on remarks made by Kraft , 72 , at a New York awards gala 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 , according to the New York Post . `` I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket , and three KGB guys got around him and walked out . '' In the quotes used by the Post , Kraft did not specifically say that Putin stole the ring ; the paper characterized his remarks that way in the headline and story . Kraft did say , however , that he had wanted the ring back . `` I had an emotional tie to the ring . It has my name on it . '' The Patriots ' owner said he then received a call from the White House at the time telling him it would be in the best interest of U.S.-Russian relations to claim it was a gift to Putin , the Post reported . Kraft said Thursday he played along . A few days after the 2005 incident , amid confusion as to whether the ring was a present or was kept by mistake , Kraft issued a statement saying it was a gift . That 's the way Putin sees it , the president 's spokesman said Sunday . `` What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird , '' Dmitry Peskov 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 4.94-carat ring is in the Kremlin 's library , where all official state gifts are kept , he said . It is worth more than $ 25,000 , according to multiple reports from 2005 . A Kraft spokesman said Sunday the story is a humorous anecdote that Kraft `` retells for laughs . '' `` He loves that the 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 , '' said Stacey James , a spokesman for The Kraft Group . `` An added benefit from the attention this story gathered eight years ago was the creation of some Patriots fan clubs in Russia , '' he said . There is some solace for Kraft , as he also received rings for the Patriots ' Super Bowl victories in the 2001 and 2003 seasons . Super Bowl rings can fetch much more when they are auctioned , depending on who wore them . The 1991 Super Bowl ring of Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor sold last year at auction for more than $ 230,000 . There were rumors Charlie Sheen bought the ring , but the actor denied it . At least one ring has been used to raise money for charity . In 2008 , former Patriots defensive player Je'Rod Cherry raffled off one of his three rings to raise $ 150,000 for several children 's charities . Putin announces marriage split . CNN 's Alla Eshchenko reported from Moscow , and Faith Karimi reported and wrote from Atlanta .
NEW : The story is just a humorous anecdote , a Kraft spokesman says . Russian President Robert Kraft says he got the ring as a gift . It belonged to New England Patriots owner Putin . Robert Kraft was handed the ring during New England Patriots 's visit to St. Petersburg in last year .