Russian Interior Ministry co-operates with foreign colleagues

Mobster Vyacheslav Ivankov, known as Yaponchik (The Little Japanese) for his vaguely Asian appearance, has been extradited from the US to Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where "a welcoming party" of special forces and the staff of the Russian Interior Ministry waited for him. Ivankov was deported within the framework of the ministry's international co-operation against terrorism, organised crime and illegal migration.

Since the beginning of this year, ten criminals on the international wanted list have been deported to Russia. The organisation of criminals' extradition is one of the tasks of the Interior Ministry's International Relations Department. It is working to strengthen international law in this sphere, traditionally spotlighting interaction with colleagues in the CIS countries. The department has a plan of joint operations in combating terrorism for this year.

Joint board sessions of the interior ministries of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Tajikistan, Georgia and other former Soviet republics have become regular, and bilateral and multilateral conferences of the heads of departments and field staff are highly instrumental. The top issues on their agenda are the struggle against slave trade, drug trafficking and other acute problems. The parties greatly benefit from the joint investigation and search operations called Magistral (Mainline), Gruzy (Cargoes), Passazhir (Passenger) and Migrant.

The Russian Interior Ministry also maintains beneficial interaction with colleagues from other countries, such as Germany, Spain, the US, Finland and Poland, where official ministry representatives are posted. We exchange information of operational interest and our spokesmen take part in co-ordinated special operations, fulfil international investigation tasks, and develop working relations with police attaches and the staff of consulates and other diplomatic offices of foreign states accredited in Russia. Our traditional co-operation with partners in China, Israel and Canada is very useful.

Interaction with international organisations is another priority. Representatives of the ministry take part in drafting documents on law enforcement and work in committees and special commissions of the UN, including on crime prevention and criminal justice, drugs, and road traffic safety. A total of 110 servicemen of the Interior Ministry help to keep the peace as part of the UN missions in Kosovo, East Timor, Georgia, Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Russian Interior Ministry is also represented in the Roma Group of G8 experts on international crime and terrorism, in the EU, the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, and the Council of the Baltic Sea States.