Russia will boost its drug control mission staff in Afghanistan, Russia's drug control chief said on Tuesday.
"The drug situation in Russia is rather difficult, and needs fast decisions, both in Russia and within the framework of international cooperation," Viktor Ivanov said.
Ivanov, the head of the Federal Drug Control Service, was speaking in Kabul at a Russian embassy meeting with top drug officials from a number of countries, as well as UN and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force representatives.
Citing official figures for Afghan drug trafficking, Ivanov said that "such mass drug production has long outgrown the scope of one country and has given rise to global drug trafficking."
He said there were three major drug channels, the so-called Balkan route via the Balkan countries to the European Union, the northern route via Central Asia to Russia, and the southern route via India and Pakistan to the rest of the world.
Ivanov explained that this global drug trafficking network could not be disabled unless international bodies took sterner measures to root out drug production in Afghanistan itself.
According to official statistics, 30,000 people die in Russia every year from heroin, around 90% of it coming from Afghanistan. Over one million people have so far died from Afghan heroin worldwide.
Ivanov said that Afghan drug production, which is estimated to be worth some $65 billion, provided "gigantic resources for terrorist and extremist organizations," and led to a "rise in crime and corruption" in counties affected by drug trafficking.
He also said that there was a direct link between fighting drug production and the ongoing major military offensive in Afghanistan's Helmand province against the Taliban by NATO and Afghan forces.
"If we are talking about drug production together with the anti-terrorist operation, one cannot be separated from the other," he said.
Afghan drug production increased dramatically after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban in 2001, and Russia has been one of the most affected countries, with heroin consumption rising steeply.
Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, described "heroin aggression" as "the main threat to Russia," and last month Moscow urged NATO to prioritize the fight against drug trafficking in Afghanistan.
KABUL, March 16 (RIA Novosti)
