President Putin was ready to withdraw troops from Chechnya as terrorists required

Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to follow the terrorists’ demands – to withdraw the troops from Chechnya and give autonomy to the republic, said the Chair of global charity foundation “Children and Young People against Terrorism and Extremism” Nikolai Mosintsev-Ozeransky in an interview to Ekho Moskvy radio.

He participated in the work of the Operative Staff in Beslan. According to him, “the draft resolution on making Chechnya a separate state was getting ready, it was almost completed”.

A positive reply was allegedly given to the terrorists’ request to withdraw the troops from Chechnya, "Putin said, “We should comply with any demands they will have for the sake of saving children’s lives", said Mosintsev-Osinsky who was with Ossetian President Dzasokhov when the latter was speaking to Vladimir Putin on the phone.

However, later, after the tragedy, Vladimir Putin repeatedly stated that the policy of Russian authorities in Chechnya would not be reconsidered, and said that the Russian policy in Chechnya and the events in Beslan are not linked with each other.