Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Monday to pursue the killers of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya, calling her murder a "disgustingly cruel crime" which would not go unpunished, whatever the motive.
Putin said the killing had inflicted much greater damage on his government than any of the journalist's sharply critical writing.
The Russian president was speaking after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a visit to Dresden, where he used to work as a young KGB officer.
Merkel said she had made clear to Putin that press freedom was part of the democratic process.
"It was again made clear by the Russian president that everything will be done to clear up this murder -- I think this is very important and a necessary signal to make clear that the freedom of those who report and write is a very important attribute of countries in which democracy develops," Merkel said.
Analysts said that Merkel was treading a diplomatic tightrope -- broaching these issues while attempting to preserve good relations with Russia, a key partner in business and international affairs.
"Angela Merkel will have to be careful," said Alexander Rahr, a Russia expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations and a coordinator of the forum.
"She needs Russia as a firm ally against Iran, North Korea and Lebanon. She doesn't want to risk alienating them," he added.
In the Russian capital, hundreds of mourners attended the burial of the journalist who was shot dead at the weekend.
The anti-Kremlin reporter made her name exposing corruption and brutality in Chechnya.
Approximately 1,000 mourners crammed in to a memorial hall at Troyekurovskoye cemetery to file past Politkovskaya's open coffin. Many wept and laid flowers.
The US, British and German ambassadors to Moscow attended the funeral, but senior government figures were absent. Boris Nemtsov, an opposition politician, said they were "cowards who did not dare to come." "Politkovskaya had no enemies except criminals and members of the authorities -- it's among them that the killer and those who gave the orders must be sought," he added.
"Anna Politkovskaya was a tireless defender of human rights and freedom of speech. We hope very much that the Russian authorities will conduct a thorough investigation into her death," British Ambassador Anthony Brenton said.
In Dresden, both leaders expressed shock at the nuclear tests in North Korea and pledged further cooperation on international priorities such as Iran.
Merkel, who is to take the reins of the EU presidency in January, said the EU would maintain its close ties with Russia.
Russia is a vital economic partner for Germany, providing a third of its natural gas. In turn, Germany -- Europe's biggest economy -- accounts for about a tenth of Russia's foreign trade.
Business links between the two countries were given a boost by former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Putin -- who were known for their matey rapport.
Among their projects was a massive gas pipeline scheme that will pass under the Baltic Sea, taking gas directly to Germany.
Putin worked in Dresden as a spy from 1985 -- a stint which ended with the collapse of East Germany's communist regime. He has given little away about his years in East Germany.
The 32-year-old spy is said to have lived with his young family in a three-bedroom apartment in a socialist housing block. Through secret service channels, he was even able to order a stereo from the esteemed West Berlin department store KaDeWe -- an unusual luxury in the communist East.
At the joint press conference he aired a reserved sense of nostalgia.
"My child was born here and when I came first came to Germany I was just learning the language. These are all factors which positively affect the atmosphere of today's meeting."
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in