DUSHANBE, July 24, Asia-Plus — Mutual claims of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on disputable territories result from uncompleted delineation of border between the two countries.  

Khoushnoud Rahmatulloyev, a spokesman for the border protection directorate of the State Committee for National Security, said that 25 cases of violation of the Tajik-Uzbek border have been reported in the past six months, and 59 border violators and 89 violators of border regime requirements have been detained.  He noted that the majority of the revealed cases violation of border by citizens of both countries do not pose threat to national security of the two countries and concern infringements having everyday-economic character.   

“In this context, Tajik borer protection directorate would like note that a statement made by Uzbek national security service on June 26 that situation on the Tajik-Uzbek border allegedly remains complex is based on apocryphal information,” the spokesman said. 

According to him, all disputable issues are being resolved quite successfully.  “The Tajik side always strives for observing agreements reached with Uzbek colleagues on regulation of the border issues,” said Rahmatulloyev, “Only in the atmosphere of confidence and mutual understanding and without mutual reproaches, it is possible to get normalization of situation on the border.”  

To prevent further border violations there ought to carry out serious explanatory work among residents of border areas.  Besides, it is necessary to speed up resolution of the issue of delimitation and demarcation of the national border, lift or ease visa regime between the two countries, and improve mechanisms of work of border-crossing checkpoints.