Medvedev threatens to close extremist schools in Russia

Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has threatened to shut down schools and universities where inter-ethnic tensions take birth and where extremism was practised.

Medvedev's remarks came during a meeting with the police in Moscow Monday, during which several police officers touched upon the problem of inter-ethnic tensions in Russia.

One officer said teachers of some Russian schools and universities "openly call for extremism".

Medvedev said if found to be true there was "no need to hesitate" to shut down such schools.

"Sometimes teachers are either not ready to transmit the right values, or they do things like that deliberately," he said.

"I believe it would be natural for the education ministry and relevant regional authorities to use responsive means, including the withdrawal of accreditation from educational institutions in some cases over propaganda of extremism - there is no need to hesitate."

The president, however, said Russian laws were frequently criticised for a lack of clearness in defining what extremism was, which results in "quite normal" cases of public behaviour being sometimes labelled extremist.

Medvedev said the problem of inter-ethic tensions can be resolved in a "civilised way" if all state and civil institutions operate properly.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has also warned of possible "fatal" consequences for fuelling nationalist sentiments.