MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he did not discuss the course of the investigation into the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and is not going to do so.

"I have never discussed this issue with regional leaders, including with the leadership of Chechnya, and I am not going to discuss it," he told his annual news conference.

It is necessary to wait for investigation data in the inquiry into the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, no one is going to cover up anyone, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his annual news conference. He added that bringing to an end investigations into high-profile cases would contribute to a stable political system in the country.

"The investigation must establish this, no matter how long it lasts. This crime must be investigated and the participants must be punished, whoever they are," Putin said. "No one is going to cover up anyone. However, we will have to wait for investigators to come up with objective evidence."

Putin recalled that the murder of Galina Starovoitova who was an oppositionist to a certain extent had been solved. "The court and law enforcement agencies have taken the case to its logical conclusion, just like other cases. I believe that such cases must be investigated and perpetrators should be punished. We will thus create a stable political system within our own country," the president went to say.

Putin noted that he had known Nemtsov personally. "I never spoiled relations with him, but he chose this path of political struggle. I am used to this, he was not an exception. But this does not mean that a person should be killed. I will never accept this," he noted.