MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. Drug traffic from Afghanistan is subsiding but this problem still remains a serious threat to regional security, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in an interview with TASS.
"Despite the obvious progress, export of heroin from Afghanistan is still a serious challenge to security and stability, first of all, in Central Asia," he said. "To counter this threat, Russia continues to expand cooperation along the anti-drug projector with regional structures, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organizations, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center."
"According to the Russian interior ministry, traffic of Afghan heroin along the so-called northern route has been subsiding in the recent years and now accounts for ten percent of the world trade in opiates," said the Russian senior diplomat. "The destination market of the northern route running across Central Asian countries is Russia while drug dealers use the Balkan and southern transit routes to deliver opiates to Europe.".