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Taliban’s fight against drugs questionable, Putin says

The problem of drug production in Afghanistan and smuggling from the country is acute, the Russian leader noted

NOVO-OGAREVO, October 15. /TASS/. The Taliban (outlawed in Russia - TASS) previously combated drugs in Afghanistan but it will be difficult for them to give up this revenue source in the current environment, Russian President Vladimir Putin said online at the CIS summit.

"Despite promises to combat the production of drugs, in reality I do not know whether the Taliban manages to do so, whether they want to deal with that or not," the Russian leader said. "They did so, and performed successfully" during their prior reign in Afghanistan (until 2001 - TASS), Putin said.

"It will be challenging at present to drop such a source of revenue, especially in the crisis in the Afghan economy," the President stressed.

The problem of drug production in Afghanistan and smuggling from the country is acute, Putin noted. "Afghanistan remains the largest supplier of opiates globally, up to 90% of the worldwide market volume," the Russian leader added.

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