Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's speech at the meeting of the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group, Moscow, June 11, 2015.
Mr Minnikhanov, Mr Madani,
I’m sincerely pleased to welcome members of the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group that has acquired new members since the last meeting, after a fairly long interval.
I’m particularly delighted to see at this meeting Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Mr Madani.
The idea of resuming the group’s activities was supported by President Vladimir Putin who spoke for the nomination of the leader of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mr Minnikhanov, as the group’s new chairman.
Dear friends, this meeting is attended by all of you –respectable and esteemed politicians, public and religious figures and heads of government agencies and non-governmental organisations dealing with issues concerning dialogue between cultures. I have the honour of reading the President’s message to the participants of the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group.
“I sincerely congratulate you on the meeting of the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group.
Russia launched active cooperation with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in the status of an observer exactly ten years ago. Since then our friendly ties with Muslim countries have substantially consolidated and continue to develop successfully.
States of the Islamic world are our important partners in promoting the dialogue of cultures and upholding the diversity of ways of development and models of civilization. Incidentally, Russia is a clear example of the harmonious existence of traditional religions, primarily Christianity and Islam.
Today the Islamic World is undergoing serious trials linked with the escalation of terrorism and extremism, bloody conflicts and internecine strife. Armed interventions, blackmail, sanctions and propaganda pressings are used against Muslim nations that are defending their national interests. This is bound to cause our most serious concern. We are convinced that, faced with these challenges, the Islamic world will manage to hold out. On our behalf, we would like to reaffirm our readiness to coordinate efforts in countering terrorism and searching for ways of resolving regional conflicts by peaceful means.
I hope that the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group will facilitate the promotion of mutual understanding and trust between our countries and peoples and help assert values of justice, religious tolerance and humanism throughout the world.
I wish you fruitful discussions and all of the best. Vladimir Putin.”
I’d like to add a few words myself.
Dear colleagues,
Indeed, Russia and the Islamic world have much in common, primarily multilateral cooperation that is based on the supremacy of international law in resolving disputable issues between states and the commitment to search for political ways of overcoming crises. It is on this foundation that we are building cooperation with Muslim countrieswithin the UN and other international organisations, including the OIC in which, as has beenemphasised once again, Russia has been an observer for 10 years.
Indeed, the Islamic world is going through a difficult period. Destabilising trends are not weakening and tensions in interstate relations are escalating. Internecine strife in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Yemen is a serious challenge to sovereign statehood, law and order. It is destroying the economy and leading to the suffering and death of people. AsthePresidentstressedinhismessage, terroristsarebecomingmoreactiveonthisbackdrop. They are seizinglarge territories and coordinating their actions. The fact that confrontation lines in the Islamic world often coincide with religious borders is a source of concern.
Under these circumstances, it is necessary to take a broad view of things and understand the strategic trends of ongoing processes. We hope that the activities of your group, which is focused on a strategic vision, as follows from its name, will help elaborate such a comprehensive and objective approach, and that its discussions will produce new ideas and initiatives on overcoming crises and responding to challenges to security, which face all of us. We are also confident that you will manage to discuss Russia’s proposal –and we hope for your support –to analyseunder the aegis of the UN Security Councilproblems that lead to the escalation of extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa, in all their entirety,without any double standards, on the basis of uniform criteria, to discuss the causes of these problems, including the Arab-Israeli conflict.
We believe that the mobilisation of intellectual resources and public initiatives to promote and enrich traditionally friendly relations between Russia and Islamic states is a vital part of the group’s activities. We consider the group to be a sound venue for implementing practical projects to facilitate our multifaceted cooperation and help our people learn more about cultural, scientific and artistic achievements and ensure broader mutual access to information regarding the life in our countries and the problems that people are concerned about.
Naturally, we proceed from the premise that the group will always focus on the need to promote dialogue between civilizations and cultures with a view to preventing a split along these lines and religious strife.
The group’s Moscow meeting opens a new stage in its work. You will jointly determine the forms and areas of this work under the chairmanship of Mr Minnikhanov. I wish you success in this work. We will continue to give it vigorous support.