MOSCOW, Feb. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram Thursday to his Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Saakashvili, to express condolences over the death of Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania.

    In his message, Putin offered his "deep condolences on the sudden, tragic death of this prominent state and political figure,Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania," the Kremlin press service said.

    Putin praised Zhvania as a champion of the development of friendly and good-neighborly relations between the Russian and Georgian peoples.

    Zhvania was found dead of natural-gas poisoning early Thursday in a friend's apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia's Interior Ministry said.

    The death of both the Georgian prime minister and his friend was under investigation, officials said. Enditem