Moscow doesn’t believe Chechen gunmen have a nuclear device and may use it in a terrorist attack, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. It was responding to allegations by Boris Berezovsky, Russian billionaire living in a self-imposed exile in Britain, that Chechen gunmen have nuclear weapons.

Several mass media sources have published various kinds of threats recently, the ministry said in its statement. Last week, Britain’s Channel Four broadcast an interview with Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who threatened more Beslan-type attacks in Russia.

And now, Berezovsky is intimidating Russians with some portable nuclear bombs that Chechen gunmen allegedly have. Russia’s foreign ministry doesn't rule out the possibility of new “horror stories” of this kind to appear, aimed to make Russians feel vulnerable and nervous.

Commenting on Berezovsky’s remarks, Sergei Mironov, chairman of the federation council upper house, said intelligence agencies should react to such allegations, but noted that media reports could be misleading. Special services should rely on their own spy networks, he stressed.

Mironov said he did not see reasons for Russia’s authorities to react to latest statements by Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, calling for peace talks. “Beware Greeks bearing gifts,” he said rating Maskhadov’s appeals as attempts to deceive the vigilance of Russia’s authorities.

It was unclear whether Maskhadov still had real influence in Chechnya, Mironov added, and there was no reason to respond to his calls.