Russia to continue fighting against Afghan drug trafficking without NATO

Russia will continue fighting against drug trafficking from the Afghan territory without NATO but through interaction with other partners, Russia's Ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko said in an interview with the Lifenews TV channel on Tuesday.

"We have trained more than 4,000 experts for the anti-drug services of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian states," the TASS cited Grushko as saying.

According to him, the suspension of anti-drug cooperation between NATO and Russia has aroused numerous concerns linked, above all, to fears that drug trafficking could intensify.

"It is clear that this decision is worsening the security of countries of Western Europe, in the first place, and Russia. The drug threat has not disappeared anywhere.

"According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the drug production is growing. That is why we are going to continue this work either independently or jointly with other partners, including the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO); the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and, naturally, the United Nations," Grushko concluded.