ROSTOV-ON-DON. Aug 29 (Interfax) - Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has hailed news from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office that suspects in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya have been identified and detained.

"Those responsible should have been identified and prosecuted a long time ago," Kadyrov told journalists in Rostov-on-Don.

"Competent agencies capable of gathering evidence before detaining people have appeared in Russia: the public will welcome this. Only if those responsible are punished will attempts to murder journalists, businessmen and politicians cease," Kadyrov said.

"A court will rule on who is guilty and who is not and draw a line under the case," the Chechen president said.