Russia will not become a member of the OIC

On June 16, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Russia would not join the OIC. According to him, "countries with a predominantly Islamic population are joining the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Russia is not such. But there are about 20 million Muslims in the Russian Federation, which is more than the entire population of many OIC member countries. At the same time, this is also not the predominant part of the Russian population. Therefore, we cannot be a member of this organization." At the same time, the minister stressed that Russia's dialogue with the OIC would continue.

Sources

• Russia will not join the "Islamic Conference" // IA "Rosbalt". 2004. June 17.