Russian President Vladimir Putin told Turkish journalists in Sochi that the international terrorists are trying to make use of the current normalization in Chechnya for their own purposes. \"The situation is getting back to normal [in Chechnya.] Elections were held there a few days ago and a new president has been elected. But the international terrorists are trying to make use of this situation for their own purposes,\" Putin said. \"You know that two civil airliners have been downed, and that an international terrorist organization, connected with Al Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for this terrorist attack. All this demonstrates once again what we have discussed on many occasions: the separatists in the Caucasus, including in the Chechen Republic, are being guided by their own interests, not the interests of the Chechen people, and are connected with international terrorism,\" Putin said. He said some of the Turkish public funds had maintained relations with the separatists in Chechnya and with terrorists. But we know that Turkey itself is suffering from terrorism,\" the Russian president said.