MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. Russia applauds the signing of an agreement on the state border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which will contribute to strengthening stability and security in the area, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Russia welcomes signing on March 13 of the State Border Agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan," the ministry said. "There is no doubt that implementation of the accord will contribute to strengthening stability and security in the Central Asian region, and relations between Russia's allies and strategic partners, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, will reach a new level of cooperation."
The ministry said that the agreement was made possible thanks to the political will of the leaders of both states, as well as the long-term meticulous work of government delegations on delimitation and demarcation of the border.
"The Russian side, in the spirit of partnership, has always provided political and diplomatic assistance to the partners in Bishkek and Dushanbe to finally settle the border disputes," the statement said.
The issue of state borders
On March 13, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon signed an agreement on the state border after almost 23 years of talks between the countries on disputed areas.
The border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan runs for about 980 km. Negotiations on its delimitation (defining the state border with a description of its passage and mapping) have been ongoing since December 2002. The unresolved issue has repeatedly caused conflicts involving residents and the military of the two republics, including with the use of firearms. The last one occurred in the autumn of 2022. In total, more than 10 serious conflicts have occurred on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border since 2014.
Kyrgyzstan borders China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Tajikistan remained the last neighboring state with which Kyrgyzstan has so far failed to resolve all border issues. Tajikistan shares state borders with three other countries besides Kyrgyzstan. The longest border is with Afghanistan - 1,343 km, with Uzbekistan and China - more than 1,330 km and 490 km, respectively. Full delimitation of the state border with Uzbekistan was completed in 2019, and the states continue to work on demarcation the common border line.