Putin vows to investigate Russia journalist's death

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin today promised to make every effort to investigate the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in his first reaction to the killing of the prominent Kremlin critic.

A Kremlin spokesman said Putin made the promise in a telephone conversation with US President George W. Bush. Politkovskaya was shot dead by an unidentified gunman on Saturday in an attack which has fuelled international condemnation.

"In the course of the conversation Putin stressed that Russia's law-enforcement bodies will take every step to investigate objectively the tragic death of the journalist Politkovskaya," he said.

- REUTERS