MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. Drug legalization may turn into a global catastrophe that will considerably erode social-political fabric and provoke serious spike in narcotic substance abuse in the world, director of Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for new challenges and threats Ilya Rogachev told TASS on Thursday.

The diplomat noted that such calls were voiced, in particular, at the recent UN General Assembly special session on drugs. "The session confirmed the firmness of the international system of drug control based on three relevant UN conventions. However, it is worth noting that the current inter-state anti-drug regime was subjected to sharp attacks by several countries ad NPOs (non-profit organizations) which proposed to radically revise it, meaning lifting several bans and restrictions on using narcotic substances," Rogachev added.

"The Russian delegation together with its supporters actively resisted this approach, and in the end our point of view had deciding influence on forming the final document of the special session," he continued. "It is important now to monitor our opponents, so that they do not try to reformat the New York consensus behindhand and forces upon others their vision on global anti-drug policy," he added. "A lot will have to be done in the process of preparing for 2019 when UN General Assembly will completely reconsider tasks and goals outlined in the political declaration and plan of action of 2009," the diplomat stressed.

Rogachev reminded that the European Union insistently promoted refusing capital punishment for drug-related crimes at UN General Assembly’s special session. "However, such line was not supported by several countries, mostly from the Asia Pacific, and remained out of the New York document," the diplomat said. "There is a moratorium on capital punishment in Russia, and, consequently, the issue of physical destruction of drug dealers is not on our agenda. It is well-known that only punitive and repressive measures will not solve this problem. It is complicated, multifaceted and inter-disciplinary, and its resolution requires both law enforcement and medical measures," he concluded.