Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed that his country will always be a “reliable ally” to the “Islamic world” at a discussion event on the topic of Islam and Russia, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

“The agenda for your meeting today addresses important issues, many of which are directly related to the events that are happening at the moment in a number of Muslim countries and, without exaggeration, urgently call for a global response,” Putin told a panel gathered to discuss Russia’s strategy in dealing with Islamic countries.

“I would like to confirm that in Russia, the Islamic world will always find a reliable ally, prepared to cooperate in resolving pressing problems,” Putin said. “We support the position of Muslim countries to strengthen values such as justice and the rule of law in international relations.”

Putin boasted that Russia had devastated extremist groups in the Middle East with airstrikes against militants in Syria, including the Islamic State group (ISIS). The Russian president has been a longstanding partner of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and Russia and Iran launched a campaign of military intervention to support his faltering regime in 2015.