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Vladimir Putin: The first information offered by the spokesmen of the terrorists who took hostages in Moscow the previous night came from abroad as another proof that the attack—one of the most atrocious terrorist attacks not only in Russia but in the whole world—was arranged in overseas terrorist centres, where it was plotted and the force recruited.
I don’t think anyone doubts that it is the people who have been terrorising Chechnya for years and are now calling for an end to the conflict, the people who sowed death and destruction in Chechnya and outside it, and are out now to spread it farther afield.
Nevertheless, to rescue the hostages and guarantee their greatest possible safety shall be the main goal of our law enforcement agencies and secret services in planning and carrying out whatever operations.
Now, let us take stock of the situation.
October 24, 2002, The Kremlin, Moscow