DUSHANBE. May 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The presence of Russian troops in Tajikistan meets the interests of regional security, Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Maxim Peshkov told Interfax- Military News Agency on Monday.
"After the Taliban regime was toppled in neighboring Afghanistan, processes threatening regional security continued there. In these circumstances, the presence of a contingent of Russian troops and border guards is necessary," Peshkov said.
The Taliban regime was especially dangerous because it, first, "fed extremist forces in the region" and, second, encouraged the drug business, he said.
"The first component was eliminated to some extent in the antiterrorist operation. But this does not mean that all followers of the Taliban ideology and all guerillas have been wiped out. On the contrary, we are witnessing an attempt by radical forces to concentrate and begin a new spiral of, if not war, then a tide of terrorist attacks," Peshkov said.
"As for drugs, their traffic from Afghanistan has not declined, but in fact significantly increased. By UN expert estimations, the drug harvest in Afghanistan could be equivalent to 350-400 tonnes of heroin in 2003. This is a direct threat to Central Asia, Russia and Europe, because Afghan drugs amount to 70 percent of all heroin reaching Europe," Peshkov said
"The anti-terrorist operation did not affect drug networks at all," he went on.
"Not a single poppy field, storehouse or laboratory were affected by the operation for some reason. At the same time, the allies had information on the location of these networks thanks to space intelligence. We shared this information, too," Peshkov said.
Russian border guards interacting closely with the 201st motorized rifle division account for up to 60 percent of drugs seized in Tajikistan.
"At the same time, international experts say that Tajikistan ranks fourth among the world's nations as far as the amount of seized opium is concerned and fifth as far as the amount of seized heroin is concerned. Think for yourself whether Russian border guards and the troops interacting with them are needed here," Peshkov concluded.