Vladimir Putin: Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are our close allies

The presidents of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan met in Astana as part of the 6th CICA summit. The meeting was initiated by Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation.
Opening the meeting, the President of the Russian Federation emphasized, “We work very closely within the framework of international organizations and are certainly strategic partners. Suffice it to say that one million citizens of Kyrgyzstan live, study and work in Russia and two million citizens of Tajikistan also work and live in the Russian Federation.”
As 24.kg news agency reports referring to the press service of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov thanked Vladimir Putin for the initiative to hold a joint meeting and discuss the existing problems in confidence, as well as for readiness to assist in issues of the state border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He elaborated on the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border and emphasized that the Kyrgyz side maintains an unwavering position on the need to resolve contentious issues exclusively through peaceful means and political and diplomatic methods. Sadyr Japarov also noted that Kyrgyzstan is determined to mutually beneficial and early completion of the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border line, which will guarantee stability and good neighborliness.
According to Khovar.tj, the heads of state exchanged views on regional security and stability in Central Asia. During the meeting, they reviewed the progress of the negotiations on the delimitation and demarcation of the Tajik-Kyrgyz state border. An agreement was reached to solve emerging issues exclusively by political and diplomatic means and to intensify the work of governmental groups on delimitation and demarcation of the state border and expert working groups in strict compliance with the previously reached agreements.