Relations Between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan Escalate Again as Kyrgyz Ambassador Summoned to MFA

The Kyrgyz ambassador to Tajikistan, Erlan Abdyldaev, has been summoned to the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dushanbe. He was informed of concern regarding recent territorial claims made by Kyrgyzstan's Deputy Prime Minister Kamchybek Tashiev against Tajikistan. This was reported by kommersant.ru.

"It was emphasized that such comments could seriously damage the progress of the negotiations on delimitation and demarcation of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border as well as mutual trust," the statement from the Tajik MFA noted.

On September 15, Kamchybek Tashiev called on Tajikistan to abandon its territorial claims. He stated that new documents have been discovered in Kyrgyzstan which indicate that many of the country’s lands have "passed to Tajikistan."

“We can confirm this with legal and historical documents. If Tajikistan does not renounce its territorial claims, then we can present our territorial claims based on these documents,” Tashiev said. He added that the authorities of the country intend to resolve all issues through diplomatic means.

“Last year there was an act of aggression, and we will not allow this to happen again,” he noted.

From September 14 to 16, 2022, clashes occurred along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border due to disagreements regarding the delineation of territorial boundaries. This resulted in 59 deaths on the Kyrgyz side and 41 on the Tajik side, after which a peace agreement was signed. To date, of the 972 kilometers of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, only 682 kilometers have been agreed upon.