MOSCOW. June 5 (Interfax) - The area under drug crops grew 18% in Afghanistan last year and the situation might exacerbate further with the departure of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the 30th International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC XXX) in Moscow on Wednesday.
Afghanistan has thousands of illegal drug labs, in the opinion of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Putin said.
"In 2012 alone the area under drug crops grew 18%, from 131,000 to 154,000 hectares. Afghan opiate production and trafficking is the problem of not only Russia but also of Europe, the United States and Canada," Putin stressed.
He thinks Afghanistan does not possess sufficient resources for combating the drug threat. "[Resources] are already in short supply, and what will happen tomorrow? The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) will leave the country in 2014. Consequences may be very sad or even tragic," Putin warned.