Russia boosts ties with the Organization of Islamic Conference

12/23/2004 3:23:00 PM GMT

Source: Gateway2russia.com

Relations between Russia and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) grew noticeably stronger in 2004, said Russian ambassador-at-large Veniamin Popov in an interview with ITAR-TASS.

Boosting ties between Russia and the OIC was to a great extent facilitated by the Russian President Putin's visit to Ankara, the first in 30 years on one hand, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's participation in the conference of the foreign ministers of Muslim countries in Istanbul on the other hand.

According to a Russian diplomat, responsible for relations with the OIC, the dialogue with the community (an "Islamic mini-UN" of a kind) had become "more vigorous" recently and was "progressing on various levels". "It is very important that Russia has acquired the status of a guest in the OIC," he said, adding that Turkey will chair the Islamic community from January 2005.

While he was in Damascus, Popov held consultations at the Syrian Foreign Ministry and delivered to the Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shar'a a message from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about bilateral relations between the two countries, and the situation in the Middle East.

A Russian-Syrian book, devoted to the historical experience of co-existence of Islam and the Orthodox Church in Russia and Syria, is to be published next year, says the diplomat.

Popov noted that the book will be an important contribution to the strengthening of Muslim-Christian dialogue.