Russian state-owned news channel Russia Today on Thursday began broadcasting in Arabic in 32 Muslim countries, Russian news agencies reported.

The channel, which will be called Rusiya al-Yaum in Arabic, follows Russia Today’s English-language version, which was launched in December 2005.

Russia Today and Rusiya al-Yaum aim to broadcast ‘news of key events in Russia to the world,’ according to the channel’s web site.

The channel’s head, Yevgeny Sidorov, told a meeting of Russia’s Council of Muftis, the state-affiliated Muslim governing body, that the channel would broadcast 20 hours per day, 7 days per week to a potential audience of 350 million.

‘I am sure the appearance of this channel will allow (us) to cardinally fill the international media space with objective information about Russia, which has not been given previously,’ Sidorov said, Interfax reported.

Sidorov added that people in Muslim countries were interested in receiving information about Russia.

The channel’s governing precepts, he said, were that Russia is a multiethnic and multi-confessional country with a native Muslim population, that Russian-Arab relations are ‘a factor of international security and support of stability.’

‘The geopolitical significance of Russia’s relations with the Middle East will only increase,’ he added.

A member of the so-called Middle East Quartet, Russia has recently made efforts toward regaining Soviet-era influence in the Middle East, with Russia the first non-Muslim country to invite the Palestinian territories’ Hamas government for an official visit.

Rusiya al-Yaum was test-broadcast for four months before going on the air, Sidorov said.

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