CSTO Secretary-General Declares Tajik-Kyrgyz Border Situation Improved

The secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) says the situation along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border has improved.

Nikolai Bordyuzha, who is in Tajikistan on a one-day working visit, told journalists in Dushanbe on February 20 that a joint Tajik-Kyrgyz commission is concluding its works on the delimitation of the border between the two countries.

The border has been closed since mid-January, when an exchange of fire along the border left five Kyrgyz border guards, one Kyrgyz police officer, and two Tajik border guards injured.

Kyrgyzstan accused Tajik forces of using grenade-launchers and mortars, while Tajikistan blamed the Kyrgyz side, saying the incident was caused by the construction of a highway by Kyrgyzstan on disputed territory.

Based on reporting by asiaplus.tj and Interfax