VLADIVOSTOK, September 1. /TASS/. Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should improve the legal framework for joint anti-terrorism activities and the fight against drug trafficking, Ilya Rogachev, the Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for New Challenges and Threats, said speaking at the Russia-ASEAN University Forum on Thursday.

He noted that "international cooperation in addressing new challenges and threats is developing rapidly." However, there is still plenty of room for joint intellectual effort of experts from Russia and the ASEAN member-countries, since there is a lot of uncertainty from a legal point of view.

"Many questions arise concerning cooperation between countries in the fight against terrorist organizations, on how to cooperate with gunmen crossing international borders, and what mutual legal assistance procedures should be applied in such cases," the diplomat went on to say.

Another important area in the field of new challenges and threats is crimes with the use of information and communication technologies, Rogachev noted.

"The matter is that, despite the fact that this area is developing, steps taken at both the national and international level are clearly not enough," the Russian diplomat said. "International law in this area practically does not exist. We could think, together with the ASEAN member-countries, about the ways of improving the situation in this area."

The fight against drug trafficking is a common problem for Russia and ASEAN, Rogachev said. "Drug liberalism is currently gaining momentum. This policy is inadmissible for either Russia or our ASEAN partners, " he added.