President Vladimir Putin slapped down criticism from Europe and even his own top security advisers as he vowed to push through a controversial referendum cementing separatist Chechnya's status as a Russian republic.
Putin told a meeting of the Federal Security Service (FSB, ex-KGB) which he headed shortly before becoming president that he felt it was "essential to support this initiative, which is coming from the Chechen people themselves."
He added that ordinary Chechens were looking forward to the March 23 vote, comments that clashed with an unexpectedly critical report delivered Thursday by Russia's Security Council chief Vladimir Rushailo.
Putin said only "terrorists" opposed a referendum which would confirm the republic's status with the Russian Federation after nearly a decade of off-and-on wars which claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides.
"We cannot say that terrorists are the same as ordinary Chechens," Putin said in televised remarks.
Rushailo on Thursday broke with the Kremlin line to report before Russia's Security Council that federal troops have so far been unable to overwhelm the Chechen rebel resistance or win the confidence of ordinary civilians there.
His comments came as Europe's top rights representative on Chechnya, Frank Judd, threatened to resign from his post in protest and end his routine visits to the North Caucasus republic should the Chechen referendum vote go ahead.
Putin did not react to Judd's threat directly, although a top Kremlin aide offered an acerbic welcome to the envoy's protest, with Sergei Yastrzhembsky saying that "Judd's resignation (threat) is sign that the political times in Chechnya have moved forward, whereas as he has not."
But Rushailo was far more skeptical about Russia's chances of pulling off a safe and fair vote in Chechnya.
"Despite positive progress, we have to admit that the counter-terrorist operation has not normalized the situation in Chechnya," said Rushailo.
"We have not been able to fully dismantle the system by which the (rebel) formations are controlled" by separatist field commanders, Rushailo conceded.
"For now, the majority (of Chechnya) continues to distrust efforts by the federal center to normalize the situation," he said.
Putin's comments Friday appeared to represent a formal response to Rushailo's criticism although he did not refer specifically to the Security Council report.
Restoring stability in Chechnya was a key theme to Putin's 2000 election campaign, and although Russia has been embarrassed by a steady stream of deadly rebel strikes against federal targets, Putin's popular support remains steady at around 80 percent.
Putin has since handed control of the Chechen campaign to the FSB -- rather than interior or defense ministry troops -- in a move aimed to show that the military stage of the latest offensive was over and is now a run-of-the-mill security operation.
But Putin conceded that the FSB had a big task making sure that the referendum is not disrupted by rebels who call the vote illegitimate.
Preparations for the vote were "gaining pace," said Putin.
While Putin has gained a dominant role in Russian politics since his election and few top officials disagree in public with his views, Rushailo's warning was echoed Friday by the speaker of the Federation Council upper house of parliament.