"We have expressed our respect for Mauritania's consistent policy of neutrality on all axes," Lavrov told reporters Wednesday.
But, he said, that neutrality did not prevent Mauritania from actively addressing "problems" in the region.
"I am talking about the terrorist threat in the Sahel-Saharan region", Lavrov said.
He also cited the conflict between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front over the Western Sahara, which borders Mauritania.
"We will actively support these efforts of our African friends, based on the principle that they are interested in assistance in this work," he added.
Mauritania is a pivotal country between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa.
Jihadism has spread in the Sahel countries of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and now threatens the Gulf of Guinea farther south, although Mauritania has not seen an attack since 2011.
The vast, mostly desert country of 4.5 million voted in March 2022 in favour of a UN resolution calling on Russia to immediately cease its military operations in Ukraine.
Many African countries abstained or did not vote.
In October, Mauritania voted for a resolution against Russia's annexation of four regions of Ukraine. But in November it abstained from a vote on war reparations that Russia should pay to Ukraine.
Russia's "assistance" in the Sahel has included the convict-staffed mercenary "Wagner Group," which has been accused of many human rights violations in Africa and other regions.
There is no word as to whether Lavrov offered to send Wagner to Mauretania.