Lavrov urges NATO to develop joint approaches to combating drug threat from Afghanistan

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Russia calls on NATO to look for joint approaches to fight the drug threat emanating from Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Parliamentarians Against Drugs international conference on Monday. According to Russia’s top diplomat, the Afghan narcotics epidemic is becoming more and more widespread. "This year, Afghanistan’s drug industry has reached another production peak," he explained. "The opium poppy cultivation areas have grown by 63% over the past year and currently amount to 328,000 hectares. That’s an absolute record. In general, opiate production in the country has grown by 87% this year and reached 9,000 tonnes in the opium equivalent." "The scale of this tragedy requires a new level of international cohesion," Lavrov stressed. "We urge NATO representatives to look for joint approaches to driving out the drug trafficking business and terrorism funded by it from Afghan soil," the minister said. "Concurrently, we are in favor of giving an impetus to the Paris Pact initiative and its adaptation to the current realities," the minister noted. "We are closely cooperating with Afghanistan and its representatives within the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has a relevant working group, and within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization where Afghanistan is an observer." Read more