MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Interpol has introduced a special processing mode for Russia’s requests to place information on wanted individuals in the databases maintained by the international police organization's General Secretariat, thus hindering the effectiveness of such investigative activity, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev told Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong at a meeting in Beijing.

"Today, under the pretext of contrived accusations, attempts are being promoted to restrict Russia in using the information channels of Interpol, the main international police organization, in efforts to locate wanted criminals and even suspending our membership in it. A special regime for processing inquiries submitted by the Russian side has been introduced, which prolongs the process of publishing information in the databases of Interpol’s General Secretariat, thus decreasing the effectiveness of this type of [criminal investigative] activity," he said.

Kolokoltsev stressed that the Russian Interior Ministry’s stance on interaction with foreign partners has been and remains the same. "It is based on the rigorous observance and unacceptability of ignoring Article 3 of Interpol’s Constitution, which strictly prohibits the organization from interfering in the internal affairs of member states in any way or undertaking any politicized activity. We think that a sovereign state should independently decide on whether to join or leave [the organization] if participating [in it] no longer corresponds to the given country’s own interests," the top Russian police official stressed.

The Russian interior minister gave high marks to his Chinese colleagues for their readiness to cooperate in obtaining information critical for investigating criminal cases via Interpol channels and commended the high effectiveness of interaction, including in joint efforts aimed at identifying, locating and apprehending wanted individuals. He also noted the high-priority task of joining forces to counteract cybercrime, which is essentially transnational, and extremism, as well as preventing any outside interference in the two countries’ domestic affairs.

Russia’s senior law enforcement official highlighted contemporary challenges demanding the consolidation of efforts by Russia and China’s police and criminal justice agencies, which include international drug trafficking as well as associated illicit financial flows. Additionally, the sides discussed migration issues and expressed the intention to activate cooperation on that track, including as part of a joint working group on migration issues, given the uptick in travel by Russian and Chinese nationals following the lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions.