Putin: Politician's murder was "politically motivated"

Putin: Politician's murder was "politically motivated"

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says he believes that the killing of opposition politician Boris Nemtsev last week was politically motivated.

"The most serious attention should be paid to high-profile crimes, including those having political motives," Putin told the Interior Ministry's board meeting on Wednesday, TASS reported, and further quoted him as saying:

"Russia should be made secure at last from the disgrace and tragedies of the kind we all experienced and witnessed just recently. I am referring to the daring killing of Boris Nemtsov in the very heart of our capital city."

Addressing members of the Russian government he also urged them to focus on solving the murder that he once again referred to as "a provocation."

Nemtsov was buried on Tuesday, with some Polish and Lithuanian politicians banned from entering the country to attend the funeral, which further aggravated relations between Russia and the EU.

The investigation i is ongoing, with officials on Wednesday saying they had identified suspects and that arrests could follow soon.

TASS quoted FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov as saying that "there are suspects in the investigation into the murder."

"There are always some," said Bortnikov.