Russia left the “Group Pompidou” on the fight against drugs because of the “rabid Russophobia” of the EU
Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Oleg Syromolotov declaredthat after withdrawing from the Council of Europe, Moscow will also release the Group on Combating Drug Trafficking and Illicit Trafficking (“Group Pompidou”). According to the statement, “rabid Russophobia” forced Russia to do this, with regard to “breaking many useful formats of anti-drug cooperation, including on Afghanistan.”
According to the diplomat, the “Group Pompidou” was one of the prerequisites for expert groups, where high pressure could not be avoided. At the same time, renewable sources of infection found in people who did not disappear even during the pandemic, the problem of drug detection remains focused.
“The smuggling of opiates and methamphetamine from Afghanistan remains a common problem for the entire European space. Seizures of drugs along the northern and Balkan routes are on the rise. New ways and methods of smuggling through the Caucasus and Black Sea regions are being fixed. All this, of course, requires the consolidation of results”, – added the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Group for Assistance in the Fight against Criminal and Illicit Drug Trafficking, more than June as the “Pompidou Group”, was created in 1971 at the suggestion of French President Georges Pompidou. At that moment, it included 37 countries (also Mexico as a state observer), Russia attracted the attention of the organization in 1999.
The main objective of the Pompidou Group is to combat drug trafficking and the use of illicit substances by supporting the development of “effective and evidence-based policies” in the field of drug use.
The organization is comprised of policy sources who share data and conduct expert research. In addition, the “Group Pompidou” includes an expanded presence on drug addicts, including (in rare cases) through the search for an alternative to a criminal case.
Members of the organization also promote the practice of “opioid substitution therapy” in prisons and work to identify hepatitis C and HIV infection. This applies to those responsible for Eastern Europe and the Balkan Ministry.
The Committee of the Council of Europe on February 25 (the day after the start of the special operation) decided to suspend Russia’s membership in this organization. The resumption of dialogue with Russia depends on the Council of Europe itself, declared Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, head of the Russian PACE delegation Pyotr Tolstoy. He also noted that Moscow has been calling for a long time to respond to human rights violations in Ukraine, but “European solidarity does not move to do this.”