Putin and his cabinet mourn for those killed in hostage bloodbath on Sept 6. Russia is observing two official days of mourning for more than 300 people who died in the Beslan hostage crisis.--Xinhua/AP

Putin visits a wounded victim on Sept 4. ---Xinhua

Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to order a public inquiry into how a school in Russia's North Ossetia region was captured by militants and then ended with a high death toll, the British Guardian newspaper reported Tuesday.

Putin made the comments during an extraordinary three-and-a-half-hour meeting with a group of foreign journalists and academics in his country house outside Moscow late on Monday.

It was Putin's first meeting with foreigners since last week's catastrophe in the school in Beslan, which left at least 335 dead, half of them children.

At the meeting, Putin said those who call for talks with Chechen leaders have no conscience.

"Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace? Why don't you do that," the paper quoted Putin as saying.

"You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child killers?" Putin asked, adding that "no one has a moral right to tell us to talk to child killers."

However, during the question-and-answer session, Putin said he would hold an internal inquiry into the Beslan tragedy after a three-day standoff with militants who demanded Chechnya's independence.

"I want to establish the chronicle of events and find out who is responsible and might be punished," Putin said.

If the Russian parliament wanted to set up its own inquiry, he would not object, Putin said, adding however that such an inquiry would not be very productive.

Russian officials believe Shamil Basayev, the most extreme Chechen commander, was responsible for the hostage-taking.