Parliamentary leader of the pro-Putin Unity party Boris Gryzlov told journalists at a press conference on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin welcomes the idea of American media magnate Ted Turner to buy a stake in the Russian leading independent tele

"At a meeting with the President we pointed out this issue and the President stated that if Turner wants to invest into NTV television it would be quite good deal,'' Interfax news agency cited Gryzlov. At the same time the deputy said it is not correct to seek political guarantees while making a personal decision whether to invest money , referring to Turner's request for guarantees from the Kremlin. It was reported on Saturday that investors linked to U.S. magnate Ted Turner intended to invest into NTV television to keep its independence from the State.Turner and his partners are ready to invest at least $300 million into NTV television if the company will not be closed and the State will not interfere in NTV's activity. But the Kremlin is not going to give such guarantees. A Turner's attorney who negotiated with the presidential administration, got a refusal last week on the political guarantees in the NTV deal. NTV television, that is part of Media-MOST, has strongly criticized Putin and his antiterrorist campaign in Chechnya.