Russia eyes more anti-drug cooperation in Caspian region

21:33, 19 September 2014

MOSCOW. KAZINFORM Three more Caspian countries -- Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan --would join the work of the anti-drug center of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian official said Thursday.

"The exact format and procedures of their participation could be drafted by the end of the year," Victor Ivanov, chief of the Russian Federal Anti-drug Service (FSKN) said during an anti-drug meeting of the Caspian region held in the Russian city of Astrakhan.

Noting that the Caspian countries have been a "powerful" transit route for illegal drug trafficking, Ivanov said the situation could deteriorate very badly after the western-led forces withdraw from Afghanistan. "We need to consolidate our efforts," he said, proposing to jointly draft a drug-free Caspian Sea program involving all Caspian nations as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. Currently, only two Caspian countries, namely Russia and Kazakhstan, participate in the CSTO's anti-drug center founded in November 2013. According to FSKN, there are eight million drug addicts in Russia, including 1.5 million users of Afghanistan-produced heroin, Xinhua reports.

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