Once again, Mr. Putin made it clear that there wouldn’t be any talks with Chechen rebels. According to him, people who call for talks with Chechen leaders have no conscience.

“Why don’t you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he will leave you in peace? Why don’t you do that?” the president told The Guardian (UK). “If western governments find it possible to set some limitations in their dealings with these bastards, why should we talk to people who are child killers?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but ex-Prime Minister of Great Britain Margaret Thatcher told me once that a man who comes out into the street to kill other people must himself be killed,” Mr. Putin stressed. “No one has a moral right to tell us to talk to child killers.”

The President of Russia also declared that an internal inquiry into the Beslan tragedy would be enough. “I want to establish the chronicle of events and find out who is responsible and might be punished. And an internal inquiry will be enough.” At the same time, he said he would not object if the Russian parliament wanted to set up its own inquiry, but he warned that it could become “a political show.”