VZCZCXRO1600
PP RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #0226/01 0291533
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291533Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6110
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MOSCOW 000226 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR ONDCP DIRECTOR DIRECTOR KERLIKOWSKE FROM AMB. BEYRLE 
EUR-RS FOR CAROLINE SAVAGE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR KCRM RS AF
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR FEBRUARY 4 U.S.-RUSSIA BILATERAL 
PRESIDENTIAL DRUG TRAFFICKING WORKING GROUP MEETING 
 
This information is Sensitive But Unclassified.  Do Not 
Release to Public Internet. 
 
¶1.    (SBU) Summary: The U.S. and Russia have powerful 
reasons to work together to combat illicit trafficking of 
narcotics.  As you heard in September from your counterpart 
on the working group, Viktor Ivanov, Director of Russian 
Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN), his priority is engaging 
you on Afghanistan and specifically suppressing the flow into 
Russia of Afghan-origin heroin.  Heroin from Afghanistan 
floods Russia leading to high rates of addiction;   money 
from the heroin trade finances terrorist organizations 
fiercely hostile to the U.S. and Russia.  Ivanov and others 
in the Russian government take issue with the new U.S. 
whole-of-government approach which emphasizes interdiction 
over eradication of poppy fields to reduce the production and 
distribution of Afghan heroin.  The U.S. and Russia also have 
different approaches on how to best reduce demand for heroin 
within Russia. Although our principal policies on combating 
the Afghan narcotics trade differ, however, the establishment 
of this inter-agency working group has provided new 
opportunities to discuss counternarcotics cooperation in 
Afghanistan as well as prevention and treatment of substance 
abuse, financial controls, and international best practices. 
In addition, the working group has paved a political opening 
for increased peer-to-peer exchanges and cooperation on the 
enforcement front.  The adverse consequences of inaction or 
non-cooperation are too severe, particularly for Russia. End 
Summary. 
 
------------------------------ 
Heroin Trafficking into Russia 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.    (SBU) Trafficking in opiates from Afghanistan 
(primarily opium and heroin) and their abuse are major 
problems facing Russian law enforcement and public health 
agencies. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported 
in October 2009 that Russia has become the largest single 
market for Afghan-origin heroin, consuming approximately 
75,000-80,000 kilograms per year (20 percent of the annual 
production of Afghan heroin).  Russia has one of the highest 
rates of opiate abuse in the world.  Opiates (and hashish to 
a lesser degree) from Afghanistan are smuggled into Russia 
through the Central Asian states along the "Northern Route." 
Russians at all levels routinely blame the U.S. for its 
failure to curb opium production in Afghanistan, some even 
seeing in this failure a plot to undermine Russia.  FSKN 
Director Ivanov has repeatedly and publicly called on the 
U.S. to carry out broad eradication of poppy fields in 
Afghanistan. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
Scope of Drug Addiction Problem and the Treatment of Drug 
Offenders 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶3.    (SBU) The Russian Ministry of Health estimates that up 
to six million people (4.2 percent of the population) take 
drugs on a regular basis in Russia; according to official 
estimates, 30,000-40,000 people die annually of drug 
overdoses and another 70,000 deaths are considered 
drug-related.  Health experts estimate that nearly 65 percent 
of newly detected HIV cases can be attributed to drug use and 
that, among HIV-positive injecting drug users, about 85-90 
percent are Hepatitis C positive.  The FSKN reports that 
there are 400,000 officially registered drug addicts in 
Russia's treatment centers.  A Human Rights Watch study 
concluded, however, that the effectiveness of treatment 
offered at state drug treatment clinics "is so low as to be 
negligible" and constitutes a "violation of the right to 
health."  New models of cognitive therapy are being 
implemented in treatment centers in St. Petersburg, but 
substitution therapy (such as programs using methadone, 
buprenorphine, and naltrexone) has not been fully explored. 
Methadone remains illegal and politically sensitive. 
 
¶4.    (SBU) Director Ivanov has expressed interest in 
studying the drug court systems used in the U.S. to divert 
non-violent, substance abusing offenders from prison and jail 
 
MOSCOW 00000226  002 OF 004 
 
 
into treatment.  A decade of research indicates that drug 
courts reduce crime by lowering re-arrest and conviction 
rates, improving substance abuse treatment outcomes, and 
reuniting families, and also produces measurable cost 
benefits.  Court reform is an extremely complex subject, and 
Russia lacks the social service infrastructure that supports 
drug courts in the U.S.  However, Ivanov's interest in drug 
courts is encouraging, and your working group can foster 
cooperation and information exchanges between judges, 
lawyers, public health experts and social service 
professionals to assist Russia in moving towards alternatives 
to the criminal prosecution of drug addicts and substance 
abusers. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
Domestic and International Drug Enforcement Policy and 
Activities 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶5.    (SBU) The State Anti-Narcotics Committee is a 
governmental steering body for developing proposals for the 
President on national anti-narcotics policy, coordinating the 
activities of various government agencies, and participating 
in international drug enforcement cooperation efforts.  The 
Committee is chaired by Director Ivanov and comprises seven 
federal ministers, 14 heads of federal services, a Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs representative, members of the Duma and 
the Federation Council, and other officials.  The State 
Anti-Narcotics Committee was tasked with developing a new 
national drug control strategy by President Medvedev in 2009. 
 A draft of a ten-year strategy was recently released; once 
finalized and adopted, it will be in force through 2020.  The 
strategy takes its own whole of government approach as it 
calls on regional anti-narcotQ commissions, local 
governmenQ community organizations, and religious 
associations to be involved.  Its objectives: reduce the 
supply of illegal Qugs, develop and strengthen intQational 
cooperation in counternarcotics, create and implement 
nationwide measures to curb the illegal distribution of 
narcotics, develop effective measures to counter drug 
trafficking, ensure reliable state control over the illicit 
movement of drugs and their precursors, and drug abuse 
prevention. 
 
¶6.    (SBU) The FSKN is Russia's only law enforcement agency 
dedicated solely to enforcing the narcotics laws.  The FSKN, 
which has approximately 35,000 employees and branch offices 
in every region of Russia, has the responsibility of 
coordinating the narcotics enforcement activities of other 
Russian law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Administration (DEA) has a working relationship with the 
FSKN, but cooperation on cases and sharing information is 
sporadic and needs to be improved.   Despite FSKN's size and 
coordinating authority over other police agencies, it has not 
conducted significant cases of heroin distribution 
organizations within Russia.  In addition, although FSKN has 
publicly stressed the importance of addressing money 
laundering and other financial aspects of the drug trade, its 
relationship with Rosfinmonitoring has not been productive. 
Seizures and forfeitures of drug proceeds are insignificant 
compared to the volume of heroin sales within Russia. 
However, FSKN's participation in December in the Illicit 
Finance Working Group, whose work compliments that of the 
Drug Trafficking Working Group, is a positive development 
which may lead to more effective financial investigations of 
drug trafficking organizations.  The FSKN has made efforts to 
implement effective monitoring of the chemical industry. 
Prior to the creation of the FSKN, precursor chemicals and 
pharmaceuticals were governed by a patchwork of regulations 
enforced by different agencies.  Production, transportation, 
distribution, and import/export of controlled substances now 
require licensing from the FSKN. 
 
¶7.    (SBU) The Central Asian Regional Information and 
Coordination Center (CARICC), based in  Almaty, serves as a 
regional focal point for communication, analysis, and 
exchange of operational information in "real time" on 
cross-border crime, as well as a center for the organization 
and coordination of joint operations.  In September 2009, 
President Medvedev agreed to Russian participation at CARICC, 
 
MOSCOW 00000226  003 OF 004 
 
 
which may encourage greater commitment from Central Asian 
nations.  However, Russia sees the Collective Security Treaty 
Organization (CSTO), comprising Russia and Central Asian 
countries as an alternative to CARICC and the NATO-Russia 
Council (NRC), and has spoken of establishing a coordination 
center like CARICC within CSTO.  Twice per year, the CSTO 
conducts operation "Canal", a week-long interdiction blitz on 
the Northern route based on shared intelligence among member 
states.  The effectiveness of this approach is questionable. 
The U.S. believes that multilateral efforts through the 
NATO-Russia Council and CARICC should be the primary means 
for advancing our shared goals though we are willing to 
consider proposals made by the CSTO. 
 
¶8.     (SBU) In 2006, then-President Putin authorized the 
FSKN to station 50 officers in foreign states to facilitate 
information sharing and joint investigations.  The FSKN has 
opened, or plans to open, liaison offices in at least ten 
countries, including four of the five Central Asian 
republics.  Russia has indicated that its drug liaison 
officer in Kazakhstan will also work with CARICC. 
 
¶9.     (SBU) Since 2006, roughly 1,000 officials from Central 
Asia and Afghanistan have been trained on various aspects of 
counternarcotics work through the NRC.  While Russia has been 
reluctant to pursue practical cooperation with NATO in many 
areas, this program has consistently stood out as an area 
where NATO and Russia can work together to achieve common 
objectives.  This joint training initiative is one of the 
most practical and useful of the Council's various 
activities.  The Russian training center at Domodedovo 
Airport is an important, but not principal, forum for 
providing training.  Russia has asked the U.S. to encourage 
Afghan drug enforcement personnel to train at Domodedovo. 
While the U.S. is supportive of the training, whether to send 
Afghan Police agents for counternarcotics training at 
Domodedovo is a decision for the Afghanistan Ministry of 
Interior. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
U.S. Support for Russia's Anti-narcotics Activities 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶10.   (SBU) The U.S. government provides foreign assistance 
to expand Russia's ability to combat narcotics trafficking, 
especially along Afghan drug routes, reduce drug abuse, and 
increase access to drug prevention and treatment facilities 
for those at risk of or infected by HIV/AIDS, the majority of 
whom are injecting drug users.  The U.S. has contributed at 
least $100,000 for several years for direct participation of 
DEA trainers at the Domodedovo training center and $2.8 
million to support CARICC.  Programs like those of the 
Healthy Russia Foundation, a Russian NGO funded by State's 
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and 
USAID, contribute to preventing drug abuse by Russian youth, 
by raising awareness, knowledge, and understanding on drug 
use prevention and mitigating risks of contracting HIV/AIDS. 
With support from USAID, the Healthy Russia Foundation is 
also working to help expand the spectrum of drug treatment 
services available and to improve the treatment outcomes in 
select facilities in St. Petersburg and Orenburg. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11.   (SBU) The Drug Trafficking Working Group provides an 
opportunity to establish constructive relationships leading 
to real cooperation and information exchanges to further the 
interests of the U.S. and Russia in fighting the Afghan 
heroin trade and the scourge of drug addiction in Russia. 
Director Ivanov, as the head of FSKN and the State 
Anti-narcotics Committee, has broad authority over Russia's 
domestic drug treatment and demand reduction policies and its 
drug enforcement operations domestically and internationally. 
 While he appears open to discussing drug courts and other 
approaches to dealing with the problems of drug addiction in 
Russia, it is not yet clear whether he is prepared to offer 
significant operational and intelligence cooperation to the 
U.S. for combating the Afghan heroin trade.  Progress toward 
 
MOSCOW 00000226  004 OF 004 
 
 
this objective would be a significant outcome of your visit. 
I look forward to welcoming you to Moscow February 3. 
 
 
 
 
Beyrle