Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday rebutted the criticism by some Western countries that Moscow had been too harsh on Chechen separatists, saying Russian troops are fighting "animals" not human, Dutch media reported.

Russia had to deal with "very violent people, beasts in the human form" and the measures taken by Russian troops had to be appropriate to the dangers, Putin told a joint press conference after talks with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende in The Hague.

"If we show a moment's weakest in the battle against terrorists, there will be a lot more victims," said a defiant Putin in front of Dutch reporters who questioned him closely on human rights issues.

Putin arrived in the Netherlands Tuesday for a two-day state visit aimed at strengthening bilateral ties in political, economic and other fields.

Putin acknowledged that Russia will "fight terrorists by civilized means and adequately respond to threats that they create. " But he stressed that Moscow will not allow terrorists to "use democratic principles in their struggle against democratic institutions."

Putin did not hide his annoyance at European countries which often criticize Russia's practices in Chechnya while ignoring " major political events" in recent years such as the referendum on the constitution and presidential elections in Chechnya.

He said Russia had invited Europe to send observers to come and see these developments, "but no one came."

He called for a common European effort to combat international terrorism, as Russia and Europe share common interests in maintaining stability and security on the whole European continent.

"We defend our and your interests in the Caucasus and Chechnya. If we allow terrorists to raise their head in one region they will raise it in another one," he said.

"We sustained grievous losses. These losses may increase if we show weakness. It is necessary to joint efforts in order to act effectively," the president said.

Russia is ready "for broadest cooperation in the anti-terrorist field at bilateral and multilateral levels," he said.

Balkenende said he had an "open dialogue" with Putin about human rights and the situation in Chechnya.

"It's very important to exchange views on the fight against extremism and terrorism," he said, noting that the Dutch society " is concerned about the abduction of people, terrorist acts and violations of human rights in this Caucasian republic (Chechnya)."

Putin admitted that human rights problems remain both in Russia and Chechnya, adding that Russia is open for cooperation in human rights.

But "this problem also exists in Europe," he said.

Source: Xinhua