DUSHANBE, 18.04.2022 (NIAT Khovar) – Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan can resolve border issues only through negotiations. This was stated yesterday by President Emomali Rahmon during a meeting with the leadership of Isfara bordering Kyrgyzstan.

President Emomali Rahmon noted that the Tajik government is interested in holding talks on the demarcation of the state border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as soon as possible.

“However, I emphasize that the solution of border-territorial issues, the coordination of the state border and its demarcation is a very complex process and requires a lot of time and effort of specialists. Tajikistan is a firm supporter of negotiations to find a mutually beneficial solution to existing problems, taking into account the national interests of both parties,” he said.

He urged Isfara residents to be tolerant and not to succumb to emotions.

“I reiterate that border issues between states can be resolved only through negotiations. There is no other way,” said Emomali Rahmon.

He also recalled that for the residents of Isfara, the delimitation and demarcation of the Tajik-Kyrgyz state border is one of the key issues.

Emomali Rahmon noted that the Tajik side has been negotiating with Kyrgyzstan since 2002 within the framework of an intergovernmental commission on the delimitation and demarcation of the border between the two countries.

“To date, more than 170 meetings and negotiations have been held between the delegations of the intergovernmental commission and working groups on the issues of delimitation and demarcation of the state border. As a result of the 20-year work of the commission, 663.7 km of the 987-kilometer border between the two states, that is, 68.4% of the border line, has been identified and agreed upon,” he said.

“We should not forget that we, the Tajiks, as one of the oldest nations in the world, throughout our long history, solved all problems and emerging issues reasonably, with restraint and patience,” President Emomali Rahmon emphasized.

The length of the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is more than 980 km. Disputes and conflicts arise from time to time between local residents in the border areas, in particular in the Isfara district of the Sughd region.

The next meeting of the topographic working groups of the government delegations of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the delimitation and demarcation of the common state border was held from April 5 through April 10, 2022 in Dushanbe.