It is most important to establish direct contacts between Muslim organisations of Tajikistan and Russia, Vladimir Putin said during the meeting.
The President also said that today’s Russia is developing as a multi-faith state in which good relations have evolved between representatives of different religions, in particular, between Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
There are good prerequisites for such relations since there are millions of Muslims living in Russia and they regard it as their homeland. To some extent, Russia may be called part of the Muslim world, Mr Putin said.
In connection with the above said, the President underlined the importance of maintaining contacts between Muslims of Russia and other countries, primarily the CIS countries.
President Putin said that at the talks with the Tajik President they discussed various issues, including ways to strengthen cooperation in the cultural sphere, in which direct contacts between Muslims of Russia and Tajikistan are a major element of the two countries’ interaction.