MOSCOW, October 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on setting up a state committee in the country to counter illegal drugs, the Kremlin press office announced on Saturday.
According to the resolution "On additional measures to counter trade in illegal drugs," the head of the federal anti-narcotics service, Viktor Cherkesov, has been appointed to chair the committee.
The goal of the state committee is to coordinate work on the federal and local level in countering drug trafficking, the decree says. Anti-drugs commissions will be set up in Russian regions, to be led by local governors.
Following the resolution, which takes immediate effect, the committee chairman must name the committee members within a month, and parliament must resolve financing and technical issues for implementing the decree within three months.
Other key goals of the new state committee are to improve anti-drugs legislation, and coordinate Russia's cooperation with foreign countries in the sphere. The committee will hold sessions at least once every two months.
