DUSHANBE, October 7, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi on October 6.

According to the Tajik president’s official website, the two sides discussed bilateral cooperation between their countries and the current situation in the region.

Russian president Putin reportedly highly appraised the level of cooperation between the two countries based on strategic partnership.

Tajik leader, for his part, stressed, “We attach significance to cooperation with Russia and we will do our best to promote further expansion of this cooperation.”

President Rahmon also noted that a rapidly changing situation in the world required an effective interaction.

Rahmon and Putin reportedly also discussed issues related to bilateral military and technical cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia and strengthening of Tajikistan’s common border with Afghanistan.           

Meanwhile, Radio Liberty reports President Emomali Rahmon has said Tajikistan was “extremely concerned” about the situation along the Tajik-Afghan border.

During the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rahmon reportedly said the situation in Afghanistan was “getting worse by the day.” 

“Practically, fighting is going on along more than 60 percent of the Tajik border with Afghanistan,” he added.

For his part, Putin said, “We need to talk about both bilateral relations and the situation in the region, which we are certainly worried about.”

The Tajik government has been receiving help from Russia and other countries to better defend its 1,200-kilometer-long border with Afghanistan.