Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov says he is prepared to negotiate with Tajikistan as long as it takes to resolve a border dispute that killed at least 100 people around the unresolved Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
"We are convinced that all border and internal issues should be resolved over the negotiation table, and there is such will and readiness on our part," Japarov told the UN General Assembly in New York on September 20.
"Of course, whatever the solution is, it should be mutually beneficial," he said, adding that Kyrgyzstan "does not intend to give a centimeter of its land to anyone."
Japarov described Tajikistan as the aggressor in the violence of the past week that killed at least 100 people around the unresolved Kyrgyz-Tajik border and said Tajik President Emomali Rahmon had deviated from previous agreements on territorial integrity and good neighborliness.
WATCH: Burned-out shops, destroyed homes, and many stories of death and destruction on both sides of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border show the impact of the latest violence.
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Deadly Clashes On Tajik-Kyrgyz Border Leave A Swath Of Destruction
"Despite all previously negotiated agreements, the Tajik side attacked border and civilian objects along the entire perimeter of the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border. About 140,000 of our civilians have been evacuated from border settlements," Japarov said, adding that houses, administrative buildings, schools, and frontier posts had been damaged.
Japarov noted that Kyrgyzstan resolved its border issues with China and Kazakhstan and is about to complete the border delimitation with Uzbekistan.
He also said Kyrgyzstan was ready to continue negotiating with Tajikistan "in any format" and take part in mediation efforts by international organizations, including the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Officials in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan earlier on September 20 issued differing assessments of the situation, with Bishkek saying it had "normalized" but Dushanbe saying it remained "complicated."
The Tajik Foreign Ministry accused the Kyrgyz side of making allegations "based on falsification and distortion of facts" intended to mislead the public in both countries.
SEE ALSO: War, Grief, And The Risk Of Repeat On The Kyrgyz-Tajik BorderBut the ministry welcomed the signing on September 19 of a protocol by the chairmen of the Kyrgyz and Tajik national security committees and "believes that its strict observance will allow the resumption of the negotiation process."
The document reportedly paves the way for a complete cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of troops.
Kyrgyz officials say 59 of its citizens died in the recent clashes and 183 people were injured. Tajikistan has put its death toll at 41, but correspondents of RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported a higher number after talking to relatives and friends of the people killed during the clashes. They concluded that 59 people, including 31 civilians, lost their lives and compiled a list of those killed.
The sides have set up a joint working commission to monitor and implement the agreement.
Tajik Deputy Foreign Minister Sodiq Imomi earlier on September 20 called the situation on the border "difficult" and accused Kyrgyzstan of failing to comply with a cease-fire.
He said alleged movements of Kyrgyz forces made assessment of the situation difficult and suggested such groups' presence "leaves no doubt that they are contemplating violence."
Many border areas in Central Asia have been disputed since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.
The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan meet.
Almost half of the 970-kilometer Kyrgyz-Tajik border has yet to be demarcated, leading to repeated tensions since the two countries gained independence more than three decades ago.