MNA � UN Deputy Secretary-General Yuri Fedotov has met and talked with Iran�s Foreign Minister Zarif on Monday.

Yuri Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), attended a meeting with the Iranian Minister of foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on Monday morning.

Zarif�told UN official that Iran had been suffering loss of police staff and financial resources in fighting drug trafficking; �the social evils emanating from drugs hit the communities where the government had been working to alleviate the pernicious effects of cartels distributing drugs among the public,� he added.
�Other countries benefit from our fight against cartels, which blocks the flow of drugs to these countries; they should accept their fair share of responsibility and pay for this fight,� Zarif told the meeting.

Mr. Yury Fedotov Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV) for his pat hailed Iran�s contribution to international fight against cartels; �Iran discovers and seizes 75 per cent of the world�s total of drugs; we cherish Iran�s role and admit that the mission is difficult and costly; UNODC�s program in Iran is among the region�s most stable and the country is a pioneer in contributing positively to the advancement of the program; we should work with Iran more effectively and help the country to address crimes associated with drugs,� he told Zarif.

Fedotov also believed stability in Afghanistan would greatly improve outcomes of efforts to fight money-laundering and drug-related crimes.