July 27, 1998

MOSCOW (AP) -- Drug-related crimes in Russia rose nearly 25 percent in the first half of 1998 compared with the same time last year, a news agency reported Monday.

Roughly 66,000 drug-related crimes were committed from January to June, a statistic that led Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov to call Russia's drug problem ``difficult, but not hopeless.''

Skuratov also warned that the number of HIV-positive cases among drug addicts in Russia is on the rise, the Interfax news agency said.

Russia has waged a losing battle with drug use in recent years. Drug-related crimes nearly doubled last year to 185,000. More than 2 million Russians use drugs regularly, a figure that Skuratov said is expected to double by 2000.

Skuratov also said that a ``drug lobby'' has emerged in Russia that is pressuring local and regional legislators to block tougher anti-drug laws.