Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan ready to resolve border issue on mutually beneficial basis - govt
BISHKEK/OSH. April 8 (Interfax) - Following the Dushanbe talks on the delimitation and demarcation of the border, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have stated their readiness to conclude the establishment of the line of the border between two countries on a mutually beneficial basis, the press service for the Kyrgyz government told Interfax on Monday.
"During a joint session of the Kyrgyz and Tajik governmental commissions for delimitation and demarcation of the border that took place in Dushanbe on April 4-6, the parties discussed the continuation of description of the course of the grade line of the border in the remaining areas and the possibility of exchanging the plots of land between the countries in order to eliminate interspersed and overlapping sections," a representative of the press service said.
The parties also addressed "ensuring stability in the shared section of the state border and concluding to build large-scale delimitation topographic maps," the representative said.
"At the talks, parties expressed readiness to conclude the establishment of the line of the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border on a mutually beneficial basis to serve as a guarantee of stability and good neighborliness in border areas," the press service said.
Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Zhenish Razakov headed the Kyrgyz government's delegation at the talks in Dushanbe, while Deputy Prime Minister Azim Ibrokhim headed the Tajik one.
The Kyrgyz-Tajik border is 970 kilometers long, the parties have defined 519 kilometers of the border to date, and another 64 kilometers have been described, but not defined.
The incomplete border definition and the existence of the areas, which are yet to be described, provoke numerous conflicts between residents of border areas; arms are used in them to settle the situation. One of the latest conflicts on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border took place on March 13-14.