YALTA, July 11. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia will not let Kiev authorities to speculate in the Council of Europe over human rights violations of drug addicts who had earlier undergone methadone therapy in Crimea, said Viktor Ivanov, Head of the Federal Service for Control over Drug Circulation, at the Russian drug watchdog’s visiting meeting devoted to rehabilitation of drug addicts in Crimea.

“A heavy heritage of anti-humane methadone therapy program is already used by our opponents in Kiev who want to use the Council of Europe and currently functioning Pompidou Group [an international co-operation group to combat drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking] as a mouthpiece to accuse Russia of violating rights of those drug addicts who were forced to take methadone in Crimea in the last few years,” he said.

“I would like to warn those in Kiev exploiting this problem that they will not succeed. Russia as one of most influential members of the Council of Europe will not permit doing so. Moreover, the Council of Europe governing bodies understand a tricky nature of this situation,” Ivanov said.

The chief of the Russian drug watchdog earlier noted that head of Ukrainian anti-drug service Vladimir Timoshenko had filed similar pleas in the Council of Europe. On July 9, Ivanov presented Russian position on the situation in the Council of Europe. In his words, all Russian remarks were taken into account by Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland. Notably, the latter agreed that it was impermissible to politicize methadone therapy issue.

Meanwhile, the Russian drug control chief noted that Ukrainian medics had “cured” even pregnant women and HIV-infected people with methadone.

As for a disastrous situation in methadone therapy which had earlier been used in Crimea, Ivanov noted that drugs had been given in doses next to lethal.

“No restrictions were set despite the deadly nature of drugs for HIV-and TB-infected people who were not just informed about this. Methadone was even given to pregnant women, dooming yet-unborn children to drug addiction,” Ivanov said.

He noted that the death rate among those people involved in methadone programs was manifold higher than that among other people not taking this killing drug. “Actually, these are programs of extermination,” he added.