Russia will continue pursuing a multilateral foreign policy, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

While meeting with ambassadors from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries, Lavrov said Russia's relations with the East and with the West are two important parts which complement each other in his country's foreign policy.

He said Islam is an element of Russia's history and culture, adding that Russia will continue promoting bilateral ties with Islamic countries.

Russia, with a Muslim population of about 2,000, has attained fruitful achievements on cooperation with Islamic countries for the past years, said the minister.

Lavrov pointed out that Russia and Islamic countries have been making efforts to prevent potential dangers resulting from religious extremism and hostility.

The minister stressed that Islam, as a religion and national culture, should not be jeopardized by extremists, and any attemptsto associate terrorism with Islam and to distort the concept of fighting terror must be avoided.

To promote dialogues between different cultures, religions and civilizations is a priority in Russia's foreign policy, which is in accordance with President Vladimir Putin's proposal for strengthening contacts with OIC member countries, Lavrov said.

Without the participation of the Islamic world, it is impossible to solve a number of important problems in international affairs, he concluded.

Source: Xinhua