“If the cultivation of poppies continues to go on and no destruction takes place in future, drug trafficking will continue affecting many transit countries including Russia, whose population, unfortunately, consumes heroin,” Ivanov said.

“As far as the anti-drug campaign in the US is concerned, it’s their business, however there are international responsibilities which we think should be observed,” he added.

The US is trying to curb the multi-billion heroin trade by replacing the cultivation of opium poppies with grain and fruit crops.

The Bush-era policy of large-scale eradication angered Afghan farmers and boosted support for the Taliban. In the years since the US-led invasion, Afghanistan has seen a sharp increase in poppy cultivation.

The drug has been spreading through neighboring Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries.

Russia is now one of the world’s top heroin consumers, and this has forced the Russian government to unite efforts with other countries in the fight against the drug industry.