The United States Wednesday rejected claims by a Russian anti-drug official that it has abandoned efforts to combat opium production in Afghanistan.
“We are aggressively pursuing that because ultimately, you know, part of the solution in Afghanistan has to be the emergence of a strong, legitimate Afghan economy,” said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.
Viktor Ivanov, the director of Russia”s federal narcotics control service on Saturday accused the United States of allowing Afghan drug producers to operate with impunity by deciding to abandon the eradication of poppy crops.
“We are pursuing a different strategy that has a combination of issues,” Crowley said.
President Barack Obama”s administration has largely avoided crop eradication in favor of seeking to convince Afghan farmers to abandon poppy cultivation in favor of other agriculture.
