Issues

Russian “Islamic” Diplomacy: Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Grigoriy Kosach

Religiia i obshchestvo na Vostoke, Issue IV (2020), p. 96-126.

 
DOI: 10.31696/2542–1530–2020–4–96–126

The article discusses one of the modern Russian foreign policy trends – the emerged in the early 2000s clear line to establish and develop relations with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation – the OIC (originally the Organization of the Islamic Conference). OIC unite Muslim countries of the world. As for the reasons that aroused Moscow’s interest in interacting with this organization, the author underlines the intensifying Russian contacts with the Arab states of the Gulf zone, primarily with Saudi Arabia. This interest was determined, on the one hand, by economic considerations, and on the other, by the situation in the “Muslim” regions of the Russian Federation (in particular, in the North Caucasus). The development of religious activism and the reality of military operations on the territory of Chechnya the second half of the 1990s predetermined Moscow's view of the OIC as an instrument to mitigate the internal “Muslim” challenge. At the same time, the possibility of establishing relations with the OIC (created and financially supported by Saudi Arabia) required the development of relations between Moscow and Riyadh. The evolution of these relations, characterized by the author as “conflict interaction”, determined the Russian course towards the OIC throughout the time of the beginning of the XXI century. The Saudi factor, as it is assessed in Moscow, became decisive for Russian “Islamic” diplomacy even after Russia officially joined (2005) the OIC as an observer country. Fluctuations in relations with Riyadh also determined the Russian approaches to relations with the OIC, which varied between the freezing of ties and the pragmatism in relations with this organization after 2017 after King Salman bin Abdel Aziz’ visit to the Russian capital.

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Keywords: Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Russian-Saudi Political Interaction, Russia’ Economic Ties with the countries of Islamic World, Russian Moslem Community, Chechen Republic, Tatarstan

Volume: 96-126

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