Russia is ready to supply Afghanistan with equipment to eradicate illicit drug crops, the head of the Russian drug enforcement agency said Friday.
"We have agreed that our Afghan partners will in more detail and with more interest discuss our Rainbow-2 plan to eradicate drug production. The plan includes increasing the efficiency of drug crop eradication," Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov said.
"Russia is ready to supply industrial sprayers designed to eliminate 50 hectares of drug crops per hour," he told journalists following a Kremlin meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai.
Afghan drug production increased dramatically after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban in 2001, and Russia has been one of the most affected countries, with heroin consumption rising steeply. An estimated 90% of heroin consumed in Russia is trafficked from Afghanistan via Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Karzai arrived in Moscow on a two-day visit Thursday.
Ivanov also said cooperation with regional states surrounding Afghanistan is important.
MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti)