Russia and Kyrgyzstan: a dialog on efforts against terrorism

The situation in Central Asia now attracts the attention of the security services all over the world, mostly because of the terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan, said Nikolay Patrushev, director of Russia's Federal Security Service in Kirgizstan's capital Bishkek. The events in the region are developing very dynamically, which means that there is a need for exchange of information between all the interested parties, he said. In this context, the main goal of his visit to Kyrgyzstan, stressed Patrushev, is the restoration of cooperation in security matters between the two countries in full volume. He pointed out the necessity of close cooperation in fighting illegal drug trafficking. Moscow is "especially interested in stopping the drug traffic from Afghanistan", he said, as most of the narcotic substances via Kyrgyzstan get to Russia and other European countries. Touching upon the question of the US military presence in Central Asia, Patrushev stressed that the USA previously announced that "its military are coming here for a limited period of time". Thus, the problem should be viewed from this angle, he said.