Kyrgyzstan, CSTO to spur cross-border cooperation

BISHKEK, January 29. /ITAR-TASS/. Border issues, strengthened regional security and developments in Afghanistan brought Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev and Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolai Bordyuzha together in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, for talks on Wednesday.

Independent observers noted that before leaving for Bishkek, Bordyuzha had visited Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe, confirmed by Tajikistan media quoting a government source.

Observers say this may be to resolve tension on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border following a January 11 armed clash between frontier troops.

Bordyuzha told an Itar-Tass news conference on January 21 that inter-state tension persisted due to conflicting territorial claims but that this would be defused soon through negotiations.

“We have maintained regular contact with the heads of states and discussed possible measures to localize the conflict. Seven or eight meetings have been organized between senior Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan officials lately,” Bordyuzha said, adding that questions remained.

These included closure of border control checkpoints on the Kyrgyz side and the presence of both countries’ military contingents on the border.

“But the fact that we continue working to resolve the conflict, and that the countries’ security councils and border agencies have joined this work, suggests that the issue will be settled soon,” Bordyuzha said.

The CSTO is a Russia-led military alliance uniting six neighboring countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia.