WASHINGTON, May 23 (RIA Novosti) – The United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has offered Russia’s Interior Ministry closer cooperation abroad, its head said during a meeting with Russia’s interior minister on Wednesday.
DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said the Russian Interior Ministry was welcome to cooperate with DEA staff in any of its international offices located in 67 countries, and called for greater bilateral efforts to stem narco-trafficking from third countries.
Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev stressed the importance of the task. “The illegal drug trade delivers not just an economic but also a demographic blow to our countries. Russia’s Interior Ministry is waging a serious battle against this threat.”
They also discussed joint training for counter-narcotics specialists working in the law enforcement agencies of Central Asian countries and Afghanistan.
Kolokoltsev noted that in the period 2006-2012, around 1,000 specialists from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were trained at the Interior Ministry’s training center.
During his visit to the US, Russia’s interior minister is meeting law enforcement officials to discuss crime and security concerns ranging from transport safety to terror threats.
