"The state will assist this process in every way. Naturally, it will not interfere in religious work, but will create all of the necessary conditions enabling people of any faith to worship freely," Medvedev said at a news conference after talks with German President Christian Wulff in Moscow on Tuesday.
"Like any other country, our country has encountered acts of religious extremism using pseudo-religious equilibristics to achieve political goals," the Russian president said.
"We cannot stay indifferent to it, and we have been closely watching all of the processes in this sphere. The situation in the North Caucasus certainly poses the greatest problem for us," he said.
"Due to various reasons, contradictions emerged in the North Caucasus at a certain moment. Various methods were used to appease the sides and to restore normal interfaith dialogue," Medvedev said.
Both Muslims and Christians live in the North Caucasus, the president said.
"Naturally, their dialogue should be normal and productive, especially as representatives of different confessions have lived side-by-side for centuries and have achieved very good results," he said.
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