U.S. Sanctions Impede Russia Drug-War Cooperation, Ivanov Says

By Stepan Kravchenko and Ilya Arkhipov Mar 31, 2014 11:09 AM ET

U.S. sanctions against Russia are hurting the countries’ cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, said Viktor Ivanov, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, who’s on the list of people hit with travel bans.

“The arbitrary and irresponsible decisions of the U.S. administration in a single day destroyed the unique experience of professional police cooperation, which had nothing to do with politics,” Ivanov, the head of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service, said in an e-mail March 28.

Ivanov, 63, a former KGB colleague of the Russian leader, is among several aides, politicians and billionaire associates included on the list of sanctions issued in retaliation for Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Putin has consolidated control over the Black Sea peninsula and massed forces along the border with Ukraine in the most serious conflict with the U.S. and its allies since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Even so, some areas of cooperation, including anti-terrorism work, remain untouched, Ivanov said. “Most world leaders recognize Russia’s enormous significance in these issues,” he said.

While the U.S. is suspending “some bilateral meetings” with Russia and “will not be engaging” with sanctioned officials, it intends to “continue operational counter-narcotics cooperation at the working level,” said Laura Lucas, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-31/u-s-sanctions-impede-russia-drug-war-cooperation-ivanov-says.html