Collaboration with the United States in tackling drug trafficking is essential for Russia, the head of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) said Thursday.

"Cooperation with the U.S. is extremely important for us," Victor Ivanov told reporters.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday terminated an agreement with the U.S. in the field of law and drug enforcement. The 2002 agreement allowed Russia to receive financial assistance from U.S. crime-fighting agencies.

Ivanov said the decision was correct because Russia is financially able to act on its own. He said the United States and Moscow "are working on organizing the joint fight against drug money laundering and cooperation in the web-space."

He did not reveal details of the future agreement.

Ivanov also criticized U.S. services for "unsatisfactory" anti-drug work in Afghanistan.

"We think that NATO has withdrawn itself from that work," Ivanov said, adding that the western block and Cooperation and Security Treaty Organization could fight together against drug trafficking in Central Asia.

Some 100,000 drug addicts die in Russia annually and about 8.5 million people use drugs regularly, Ivanov said.