Azerbaijan, Russia boost fight against drugs

Azerbaijan and Russia reached important agreements in the sphere of fight against drug-related crimes, Viktor Cherkesov, the director of the Russian federal service for control over the turnover of drugs and psychotropic substances, on a two-day visit in Azerbaijan, said at a Wednesday press conference in the Russian embassy in Baku.

"We had very useful, extended, confident talks with the interior and national security ministers, with the Azeri Vice Premier on a wide range of issues connected with countering drug-related crime and drugs abuse," Cherkesov said.

"A very important and serious talk took place with Azeri President Ilkham Aliyev, during which he spoke for more active joint work in the sphere of fighting organized crime, international crime, including drug business," Cherkesov said.

During the meeting, in his words, "new approaches to this work were discussed, as well as further actions connected with interaction of Russian law enforcement bodies, Russia's State Drug Control Committee and relevant competent services of Azerbaijan."

"In many respects the sides' opinions about the state of affairs in Russia and Azerbaijan, and, which is very important, around our countries, as drug-related crimes are transnational, coincided," Cherkesov emphasized.

The memorandum on mutual understanding signed the day before between the Azeri Interior Ministry and Russia's State Drug Control Committee "will make it possible to build our joint work in the field of countering drug-related crime in new forms," Cherkesov said.