World community to step up effort to settle Afghanistan problems

Moscow, June 17 (Itar-Tass) -- Kai Eide, UN secretary-general's
special envoy, will discuss in Moscow on June 18 coordination of efforts of the world community to overcome problems existing in Afghanistan.

The Norwegian diplomat will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov and with his deputies Alexei Borodavkin and Alexander
Yakovenko. The parties will exchange opinions on the situation in
Afghanistan and coordination of efforts of the international community
regarding Afghanistan, Itar-Tass learned from informed sources.

"Attention will focus on problems of narcotics and terrorism in
Afghanistan," sources told Itar-Tass. "Russia is ready to cooperate with
the United Nations in coping with problems in Afghanistan."

Andrei Denisov, Russian deputy foreign minister, stressed earlier,
"The situation in Afghanistan can be settled effectively, and serious
problems facing Afghanistan can be solved given coordinated efforts of the
international community with the United Nations in the lead."

Denisov cited United Nations data according to which 93 percent of
opium existing in the world comes from Afghanistan. "Narcotics produced in
Afghanistan threaten security not only of Russia and countries of the
region but also of the whole international community," the deputy minister
said. "It is vitally important to pool the efforts to create 'anti-
narcotics belts' which may throttle narcotics dealers," he said.

"From the time of the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, Russia has
been giving assistance to Afghanistan," Denisov noted. "Russia granted to
Kabul military-technical assistance to a sum of 220 million dollars; we
are ready to train Afghan pilots, law enforcers and drug control experts".
"Thirty-seven Afghan drug control experts have been trained on the basis
of the specialized international inter-department centre working in
Domodedovo near Moscow," he said. "The centre functioning in the framework
of the project of the Russia-NATO Council will from now on be permanent."

Denisov said, "The total volume of Russian humanitarian assistance to
Afghanistan exceeds 30 million dollars." "Early this year when people in
Afghanistan suffered from severe frosts and food shortages, Russia
supplied Afghanistan with over 3,000 tonnes of wheat flour along the lines
of the Ministry of Emergency Situations," he said. "It is now considered
to supply Afghanistan with another15, 000 tonnes of wheat free of charge."
"Russia wrote off over 10 billion dollars of Afghanistan's national debt
in August 2007," he added.

Denisov said, "One of the priorities of Russian politics regarding
Afghanistan is assistance to the country's social and economic
development. Many industrial facilities in Afghanistan have been built
with Russian assistance." "Russian companies increase their presence in
Afghanistan," he noted. "Reconstruction of the major hydro power station
Naglu has been started; a number of small hydro power plants have been
built in various Afghan districts; preparation is under way to restore
strategic tunnel Salang linking Kabul with northern Afghan provinces," he said.