MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) welcomes the signing of a state border treaty between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the organization's secretariat said in a statement.
"The CSTO Secretariat welcomes the signing of the Treaty on the State Border between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan. Thanks to the consistent efforts and political will of the leaders of the two countries, the line of the state border has been agreed upon along its entire length of almost one thousand kilometers," the statement said.
According to the secretariat, the settlement of the border issues will undoubtedly "contribute to the progressive development of regional cooperation in various spheres, promote security in the CSTO area of responsibility and fulfill the tasks of the organization."
The secretariat also wished the two brotherly peoples further success in building economically developed and harmonious societies.
State border issue
On March 13, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon signed a national border treaty in Bishkek after almost 23 years of negotiations between the countries over contested territories.
The border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is about 980 kilometers long. Negotiations on its delimitation (definition and mapping of the state border) have been ongoing since December 2002. Failure to resolve this issue has repeatedly led to conflicts between local residents and military personnel of the two countries, including with the use of firearms. The last incident took place in the early fall of 2022. In total, more than 10 serious conflicts have occurred on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border since 2014.
Kyrgyzstan shares borders with China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Tajikistan remains the last neighboring state with which Kyrgyzstan has not yet resolved all border issues.
In addition to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan shares state borders with three other countries. The longest border is with Afghanistan - 1,343 kilometers, with Uzbekistan - more than 1,330 kilometers, and with China - 490 kilometers. The full demarcation of the state border with Uzbekistan was completed in 2019, and the parties continue to work on the marking of the common border line.