MOSCOW. May 27 (Interfax) - The United States will lose from its decision to halt anti-drug cooperation with Russia, Federal Drug Control Service Director Viktor Ivanov said in an interview with Interfax on Tuesday.
"The heroin market in the United States has grown by more than 80% in the past three years. U.S. society is suffering from drugs produced in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the U.S. authorities are shutting down collaboration projects with Russia," he stated.
"The halt of operations of the Russian-U.S. working drug control group is also damaging for the U.S. public," Ivanov continued.
The FSKN chief is a person listed amongst Russian citizens subject to the U.S. sanctions over Crimea. The United States has suspended cooperation with Russia in the drug control group, a unit of the Russian-U.S. Presidential Commission.
Ivanov cited forecasts saying that drug production in Afghanistan would continue to grow in the upcoming years. "Areas under opium poppy crops will exceed 250,000 hectares this year. In fact, we have been witnessing a 50% growth in opium poppy production in the past two or three years," he said.
"Consumption of Afghan heroin will increase both in the United States and in Europe," Ivanov said.
Russia is assisting the Tajik President's Drug Control Agency in its rearming, procurement of special-purpose hardware and personnel training, the FSKN head continued.
A purpose of this assistance is to minimize risks from the Western coalition pullout from Afghanistan, Ivanov said.
The program worth of more than $3 million was launched in 2013 for a few years to come, Ivanov said.
"We believe and Tajik colleagues agree that the Tajik Border Service will need active support to its rearming and procurement of special-purpose hardware and vehicles, modern armaments and communication means," the service chief noted.
Asked about a possible return of Russian border guards to the Tajik-Afghan border, Ivanov said, "This issue is beyond my sphere of competence. It is a question of interstate relations. I know that it is being constantly raised."
Russian border guards left the Tajik-Afghan frontier in 2005.
According to FSKN, eight million Russians are drug addicts and 1.5 million of them are addicted to heroin. Drugs kill up to 70,000 young Russians a year.
Ivanov summed up results of the anti-drug operation Canal-Southern Trap, in which 12.5 tonnes of drugs were impounded, in Dushanbe on Tuesday.