Putin spoke at a meeting with Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior on the day of the secondary anniversary of the hostage-taking tragedy in Beslan.
A group of militants seized secondary school No. 1 in the town of Beslan, 30 km northwest of Vladikavkaz, the capital of Russia's republic of North Ossetia, September 1, 2004, killing 17 in the first few hours.
The three-day school siege, orchestrated by Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who was killed in a Special Forces operation in the summer of 2006, ended when troops stormed the school and rescued about 1,000 people.
"The killing of innocent women and children shocked not only our country but also the entire world. This tragedy, the inconsolable grief of the parents who have lost their dearest - children - will always remain our common pain," Putin said.
