Vladimir Putin has offered to have a replica Super Bowl ring made for Robert Kraft after the Russian President was accused of stealing it. In his first official statement about the ring allegations, the Russian leader told Petersburg Economic Forum he did not remember Mr Kraft or the ring, but seeing as it was so valuable he would have more made for the New England Patriots' owner. 'I remember that I was handed some souvenirs. If this is such a great value for Kraft and the respective team, I have a proposal,' President Putin said. Scroll down for video . New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has claimed that Vladimir Putin took his Super Bowl ring and that the White House told him to say it was a gift . He suggested that a Russian factory . could create a replica, using 'good metal and stone' so a copy of the . ring can be given to Mr Kraft and the team. '[It] will be the smartest … solution to this complex, international problem,' he added. The ring is believed to be in the . library of the Kremlin, which has denied Mr Kraft's account the . President Putin walked off with the ring during a meeting in St . Petersburg in 2005,according to the New York Post. Since details of the ring's disappearance first emerged, Mr Kraft backtracked on his original claim that President Putin . stole the Super Bowl Ring. A spokesman for the billionaire businessman said Mr Kraft's claim that Putin pocketed his $25,000 Super Bowl XXXIX ring was a 'humorous, anecdotal story that Robert retells for laughs.' A . careful reading of the statement, though, reveals that Mr  Kraft isn't . saying the story is untrue - only that it isn't meant to be taken . seriously. Mr Kraft had said that after Putin . made off with his ring, he was pressured by the Bush White House into . calling it a gift was a gift and letting Putin keep it. On Sunday, Kraft's spokesman said: . '(Kraft) 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.' It's a good thing, too. Because Putin isn't giving it back. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN  the ring resides at the Kremlin museum - where all 'state gifts' are kept. He denied that Putin stole the ring - . insisting that Mr Kraft freely gave it to the Russian leader in 2005 at a . meeting in Saint Petersburg. 'What Mr. Kraft is saying now is . weird. I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw . and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift,' he told the network. According to the New York Post, Mr Kraft . told an audience at a gala in New York that he handed Putin . the ring when the Russian president asked to look at it. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, left , while holding Kraft's diamond-encrusted 2005 Super Bowl ring, as News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, center, looks on during the 2005 meeting . On Sunday, Stacey James, a spokesperson for Robert Kraft's company, the Kraft Group issued a statement backtracking on the story Kraft told Thursday: . 'It's a humorous, anecdotal story that Robert retells for laughs. '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 adds that the ring being at the Kremlin has 'an added benefit from the attention this story gathered eight years ago was the creation of some Patriots fan clubs in Russia.' ‘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,”’  Mr Kraft told the crowd. Mr Kraft continued: ‘I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.’ The incident occurred in 2005, the summer after the Patriots had won their third Super Bowl under his  ownership. He was one of a number of prominent American businessmen who visited Russia to meet with Putin. At the time, Mr  Kraft released a public statement saying the . diamond-encrusted ring - worth more than  $25,000 - had been a gift. '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,' read Kraft's statement at the time. But now Mr . Kraft has claimed that Putin simply pocketed the 4.94-carat ring and that the White House intervened when he . demanded it back, reports the . According to Mr Kraft he received 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.' Kraft shows off one of his other Super Bowl rings at Thursday night's event . But, Mr 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 reportedly kept in the Kremlin library.
Russian President says he cannot recall meeting Kraft or seeing ring . Copy of Patriots' Super Bowl ring will 'solve international problem'