Defiant Putin rejects calls for talks with Chechen rebels
He again rejected Western calls for negotiations with Chechen rebel representatives.
"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 leaves you in peace?" Putin said sarcastically.
"You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child-killers?"
Mr Putin said foreigners should have "no more questions about our policy in Chechnya" after the attackers shot children in the back.
"This is all about Russia's territorial integrity," Mr Putin was quoted as saying.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but Margaret Thatcher, whom I've met more than once, said: 'A man who comes out into the street to kill other people must himself be killed,'" he said.
He also said his government would conduct an internal investigation but not a public one warning that a parliamentary probe could turn into "a political show."
Meanwhile the Russian Foreign Ministry is to seek the extradition of a rebel Chechen who has been granted political asylum in Britain.
The ministry said Russia will take new steps seeking the extradition of people it says are linked with terrorism, including rebel representatives Akhmed Zakayev, an envoy for separatist former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, who is living in London.
A captured gunman from the Beslan school siege said on state TV that he was told Maskhadov was behind the attack.
Zakayev denied that Maskhadov had played any part, and alleged the gunman's TV statement had been extracted under torture.
"The claims of President Maskhadov's involvement in the terrorist act are part of a well thought-out disinformation campaign," he said.
Another target for extradition is Ilyas Akhmadov who is living in the US.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
