"We are allies in the fight against international terrorism, and allies in the fight against modern threats and challenges," Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting with ambassadors of Islamic countries to Russia dedicated to the Muslim New Year.
The minister said that close economic and trade relations between Russia and Muslim states play a significant stabilizing role in the international arena, adding that Islamic countries had always been reliable partners for Russia.
"Russia, as a multiethnic and multi-confessional country with a sizeable Muslim population, has always been a reliable partner and friend of the Islamic world," Lavrov said.
He added that Russia and the Islamic world are united in their intentions to strengthen the collective basis of international politics and to make the world order more democratic and just.
"There is no doubt that ideologically driven approaches to international issues could damage intercultural accord, which we all need greatly," the minister said.
Early next month Lavrov will travel to Washington to attend a ministerial meeting of the Quartet, which comprises Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, to discuss the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
