| 1 | MOSCOW - Vladimir Putin and Sepp Blatter just can't stop praising each other. |
| 2 | The Russian president, speaking with Swiss TV on Monday, said the embattled head of FIFA deserves a Nobel Prize for his work. |
| 3 | Two days after Putin and Blatter hosted the preliminary draw for the 2018 World Cup, Putin said "people like Blatter ... deserve special recognition." |
| 4 | Blatter had opened the draw ceremony Saturday - held at a palace in St. Petersburg that is an official Putin residence - and warmly congratulated his host. |
| 5 | Besides Blatter, Putin suggested to Swiss state broadcaster RTS that heads of international sports federations and Olympic committees would also be worthy recipients. |
| 6 | "Let's have Nobel Prizes for people like that," said Putin, who approved lavish spending on the 2014 Sochi Olympics that cost $51 billion to prepare and stage. |
| 7 | On Saturday, Blatter told Putin that the Russian people "can be proud" of him and that FIFA says "yes to Russia, we are providing our support." |
| 8 | Russia's successful bid to host the World Cup is central to the Swiss federal investigation. |
| 9 | That case also focuses on the 2022 bidding campaign, won by Qatar. |
| 10 | The American case has named three former FIFA vice presidents among 14 soccer and marketing officials indicted in May on widespread racketeering charges. |
| 11 | A further four men have made guilty pleas in the widening case that is also expected to target Blatter and the 2018-2022 World Cup bid contests. |
| 12 | Putin said in the Swiss interview, recorded Saturday in St. Petersburg, that he was sure Blatter was not corrupt. |
| 13 | He added that, by making allegations against FIFA, the Americans and their allies in Britain were continuing to fight the World Cup bidding contest. |
| 14 | Both the United States and Britain bid for the tournaments won by Qatar and Russia. |
| 15 | Blatter made a similar comment in his first interview after being re-elected president of FIFA on May 29. |
| 16 | Four days after the interview aired on RTS, Blatter announced he would step down within months. |
| 17 | The new election is scheduled for Feb. 26. |
| 18 | Blatter has long coveted a Nobel Peace Prize for FIFA on behalf of world soccer, but the corruption cases appear finally to have ended that hope. |
| 19 | On June 15, the Nobel Peace Center in Norway terminated its cooperation with FIFA in a project called "Handshake for Peace." |
| 20 | FIFA criticized the Nobel organization the next day for lacking fair play and announcing the split via the media. |