Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, October 28, 2021

On October 28, the Council of Europe’s Pompidou Group for international cooperation on drug policy and addiction marks its 50th anniversary.

In these 50 years, the Group emerged as an important platform for intergovernmental interaction in this sphere in the Eurasian region. Today, it has 42 members, including three non-European states.

The Russian Federation joined the Pompidou Group on May 18, 1999 and plays an active part in its activities. A representative of the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Health is a Permanent Correspondent at the Pompidou Group and a member of the Group’s Bureau of Permanent Correspondents.

The approval of the Group’s new regulations in 2021 is a key event ahead of its 50th anniversary. Russia directly contributed to coordinating this document, which made it possible to retain the Group’s well-balanced agenda and to formalise its human rights mandate, as well as healthcare and law enforcement cooperation aspects.

We congratulate the Pompidou Group on the anniversary and hope that its member states will continue their constructive cooperation.

Source: web-page of the Russian Foreign Ministry