Moscow welcomes the end of the escalation phase of the Tajik-Kyrgyz conflict and approves the efforts of Dushanbe and Bishkek in joint work on border demarcation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this on Wednesday following talks with Tajik Foreign Minister Sirodjiddin Mukhriddin.
"We talked about the positive example of the transition from confrontation to cooperation set by the Republic of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. We are very glad that the hot phase of the recent conflict is behind us, but most importantly, the countries have begun to work on delimitation and demarcation," the head of the diplomatic mission pointed out.
The Minister considers the political process, intensified by the countries, as "a good example" for the entire post-Soviet space, where "for well-known reasons the borders were not drawn up finally and reliably in legal terms". "Now it is necessary to activate this process in every possible way," Lavrov added.
The situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border near the Golovnoy water intake, which each side considers its territory, escalated on April 28 when a conflict arose there between residents of border villages of the two countries. There was an armed clash between Kyrgyz and Tajik soldiers on April 29. Bishkek said that Tajik servicemen used machine guns, mortars and Mi-24 attack helicopters. The same evening, the two sides held talks leading to the signing of a joint statement in which they affirmed their willingness to end the confrontation and begin the withdrawal of troops.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from TASS