"In essence, those who are fighting against federal forces in Chechnya today substituted one meaning for another when they talked about the need to fight for the independence of the Chechen Republic," Putin told a television channel, France 3. "But in reality [they] attacked their neighbors in a bid to implement the following idea: to tear other territories away from Russia and establish a fundamentalist state."
"I think that it has become evident to everyone, and to them in the first place, that their crazy idea is impossible, at least, impossible using Russia," the president said.
Putin said that Russia would continue to seek a political settlement involving everyone who wanted "a normal peaceful life, normal progress that is natural for the Chechen people and the republic."
"We will continue to wage a tough battle against those who try to implement absolutely unacceptable plans with guns in their hands, using terror to try to accomplish their objectives, using Islam a cover, and using political slogans as a cover," he told France 3.
On the eve of Victory Day (Russia celebrates the end of WWII on May 9), Putin gave an unprecedented series of interviews to foreign media, answering more than 120 questions.
