The EastWest Institute has just released Afghan Narcotrafficking: Post-2014 Scenarios, the second report out by its working group of Russian and U.S. experts. As Afghanistan now faces an uncertain political and security environment following the drawdown of ISAF troops at the end of 2014, the potential for a worsening narcotrafficking threat is great.

The report states that the potential for deterioration “underscores the imperative need for Russian and U.S. policymakers to find the political will to resume and perhaps even increase cooperation despite ongoing differences on other issues. Together with regional partners and international organizations, renewed Russian-U.S. cooperation presents the best hope for a brighter future.”

Senator Dianne Feinstein issued the same call for cooperation in a December 2014 report by the United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, in which she wrote: “The simple fact is that Afghan narcotics pose serious security and health threats to both the United States and Russia. We should find opportunities to jointly address this shared problem.”

The working group’s first report, Afghan Narcotrafficking: A Joint Threat Assessment, came out in 2013. Post-2014 Scenarios will be followed by three more reports in 2015 and 2016 offering specific policy suggestions on border security, alternative livelihood in Afghanistan and narco-financing, with a final report presenting a compendium of all recommendations.

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Download the Report