Putin urges end to political killings

RUSSIA’S President Vladimir Putin has called for an end to “shameful” political killings in Russia, after the shooting of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov just outside the Kremlin walls.

He said the most serious attention should be paid to high-profile crimes.

The former deputy prime minister, 55, was murdered on Friday night and buried in Moscow on Tuesday.

The motive is unknown, but Mr Putin’s aides have rejected suggestions that he had any involvement.

Mr Nemtsov, who had been planning a march against the conflict in eastern Ukraine, said recently that he feared the president would have him killed because of his opposition to the war.

At least 50,000 people turned out on Sunday to march in tribute to him.

“It is necessary to finally rid Russia of the shame and tragedies like the one that we lived through and saw quite recently. I mean the murder, the brazen murder of Boris Nemtsov right in the centre of the capital,” Mr Putin said in televised comments to the interior ministry.

After the shooting, Mr Putin said he would do all he could to ensure the killers were brought to justice but little progress appears to have been made in the investigation.

When asked by reporters on Tuesday if there were any suspects in the murder, the head of Russia’s FSB security service, Alexander Bortnikov, said: “There are always suspects.”