Russian President Vladimir Putin said today human rights groups should be allowed to work freely with Chechens.
Mr Putin, known for his hardline stance on the war in Chechnya, met Mr Stanislav Ilyasov, the minister responsible for Chechnya, who said rights groups were causing "turmoil" among refugees ordered out of tent camps in neighbouring Ingushetia, where they have lived since troops returned to Chechnya in 1999.
But Putin said: "It is you who thinks they are causing turmoil. Maybe they don't give you very comfortable conditions to work in, but they are protecting the people that live there. You need to take this into account."
But activists have dismissed Mr Putin's comments as a pre-election ploy.
Rights groups accuse pro-Moscow forces of widespread rights violations in Chechnya, where separatists have fought Russian rule for more than nine years.
Refugee groups have said the decision to make the 7,000 Chechen refugees leave their tents by March is an attempt to prevent journalists and rights campaigners from contacting them.