DUSHANBE, 06.05.2021 (NIAT Khovar) – On May 2, in the interactive show program The Evening of a Hard Day on the TV1 KG channel, presenter Oksana Kryukova talked with another guest of the program, an expert on Central Asia Arkady Dubnov, known for his previous critical attacks on Tajikistan.

Kryukova asked Dubnov to assess the recent armed conflict on the border with Tajikistan.

«The problem is, of course, very serious. Vorukh was not an enclave before. It indeed was part of Tajik territory. And then, in the 1950s, the Kyrgyz authorities, by the way, made [Vorukh] an enclave by a willful decision, so that they could lead a road to their Leilek region. They did not have a direct road through their territory to this area. It was possible to get there only through the mountain ranges. It is clear that this is impossible. And this decision of the Kyrgyz authorities was not coordinated with Tajikistan at the time. And Moscow did not accept this decision. And it remained so until 1991 [when the the Soviet Union was dissolved]. And now it has become a monstrous problem,» answered Dubnov.

Replying to the question about what needs to be done, Dubnov said that «Moscow should have taken serious steps to create some kind of structure and try to engage in political consulting. The past events should lead to the strengthening of peacekeeping and political efforts.»

Even though both countries [Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan] are members of the CSTO, Dubnov noted that he does not think that «peace, which will be achieved through Russia’s [military] intervention in the conflict in Central Asia.»

«For Kyrgyz-Tajik relations,- if you yourself are not ready to solve this problem, then battalions and divisions of peacekeepers will not help in the matter,» he emphasized.