U.S. officials deny Bush lost timepiece in Albanian crowd

U.S. officials deny Bush lost timepiece in Albanian crowd

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush's watch was not stolen by someone in the crowd. "The president put it in his pocket and it returned safely home," Snow said

An Albanian bodyguard who accompanied Bush in the town told The Associated Press he had seen one of his U.S. colleagues close to Bush bend down and pick up the watch from the ground. The Top Channel private TV station showed how one of his bodyguards may have spoken with the president and then taken the watch from his hand.

Bush's visit to the tiny Balkan country, the first ever by a U.S. president, was considered as historic.

Albania issued three postage stamps with Bush's picture and the Statue of Liberty, renamed a street in front of parliament in his honor, awarded him the highest National Flag medal, and the Fushe Kruje town council declared him an honored citizen.