Leaders of the member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are confident that the issue of border settlement between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will be resolved in the near future, there is tangible progress in this direction. CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov told reporters.
"The heads of state noted the progress that has emerged and expressed confidence that this problem will be resolved in the near future," he said.
According to the secretary-general, tangible progress in settling the border issue between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is "an important, positive factor for the region as a whole."
"The leaders of the two states (Presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan Sadyr Zhaparov and Emomali Rahmon - TASS) have declared the non-alternativity of political and diplomatic methods in resolving this issue, in accordance with which government commissions have been established, which meet on a regular basis and solve the problems of disputed sections of the border. I think that in the near future we will witness very good progress on this issue," the CSTO Secretary General added.
The state border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is about 980km long. Negotiations on its delimitation (definition of the state border with a description of its passage and mapping) have been ongoing since December 2002. Currently, more than two-thirds of the border line has been defined and mutually recognized by the states, while the remaining sections are considered disputed. The failure to settle this issue has repeatedly caused conflicts involving local residents and servicemen of the two republics, including conflicts involving the use of firearms.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS