Russia works with OIC to combat common challenges – FM

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday his country would carry on working with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to fight Islamophobia, Christianophobia and Russophobia worldwide. Delivering a speech in OIC Young Diplomats Forum being held on the sidelines of the "Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum", Lavrov said "We, together with the OIC, are ready to continue facilitating interreligious and cross-cultural dialogue and protect the spiritual and moral values shared by all world religions." He stressed the need of combating Islamophobia, Christianophobia and Russophobia as well as other forms of racial and ethno-cultural hatred. "Russia is the largest Eurasian country, a civilization-state, which traditionally supports honest and mutually respectful relations with Muslim countries," Lavrov said, according to Russia's news agency (TASS). "We are firmly united by resolute adherence to the cultural and civilizational uniqueness of peoples and their natural right to preserve their tr aditions and history, to determine the paths of their development on their own," he affirmed. The forum held its first meeting in 2009 and established an international platform to discuss cooperation issues and implement common projects. It is one of the three largest international economic forums held annually in Russia, along with St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and Vladivostok Eastern Economic Forum. Source: Kuwait News Agency