Moscow, 29 December: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has asked journalists to be objective in their coverage of the actions taken by the country's leadership to tackle the financial crisis.

"I have one request - to cover events objectively, not stoking fears, let alone any kind of hysterics," Putin told journalists today in the Russian White House (seat of the government).

"We have no grounds" for such fears, Putin stressed.

"The situation is complicated, but far from hopeless. We know what to do about it, and how to get out of this," he added.

"There is no need to scare each other and exacerbate things," Putin said.