Putin Blasts Dutch Chechen Stance

On a state visit, the Russian president took on the EU's pro-Chechen foreign policy:

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende had raised concerns about respect for human rights in Chechnya in talks with Putin.

But Putin likened Russia's problems in the region to attacks by Islamic militants in Europe, such as the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh exactly a year ago by a Dutch-Moroccan.

"It was a terrible event that is, of course, a sign of a much broader problem called international terrorism," Putin said at a televised joint news conference with Balkenende in The Hague.

"We are fighting very cruel people -- beasts in the guise of human beings who do not and do not want to understand in what time and world they live. Our response must be equal to the threat they present to modern civilization," Putin said. . . .

. . . Putin said terrorists would seize upon any sign of weakness and chastised Western Europe for what he said were overblown concerns about abuses against Muslims in Russia.

"Sometimes it seems to me that certain European leaders want to be more Muslim than the Prophet Mohammed," Putin said.

"My opinion is that in the Caucasus and in Chechnya, we are protecting both our and your interests. If we allow terrorism to raise its head in one region, the same will happen in other regions of the world," he said.

Countries need to work together to combat terrorism effectively, Putin said, adding that cooperation with the Netherlands and the European Union on this issue was one topic that he and Balkenende had discussed.