DUSHANBE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2021) Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ann Linde on Saturday discussed the situation on the border with Kyrgyzstan via video conference, during which the OSCE offered assistance in settling the conflict, a spokesperson for the Tajik Foreign Ministry told Sputnik.
"The Tajik foreign minister informed his interlocutor about the recent incidents on the border with Kyrgyzstan and the results of negotiations between the two countries at all levels to stabilize the situation, including a ceasefire agreement and the readiness of the two sides to resolve the situation through negotiations using political and diplomatic tools," the spokesperson said.
Linde welcomed the agreements reached between Dushanbe and Bishkek and called on the sides to adhere to OSCE commitments and to continue efforts and negotiations to further de-escalate the situation.
The armed conflict over border demarcation between the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan and the Sughd region of Tajikistan erupted on Thursday, leaving dozens of people dead and injured. Kyrgyzstan announced a ceasefire on Thursday evening, to which Tajikistan agreed. The sides said they would pull troops and military equipment from the border and back to the places of their permanent deployment. On Friday, armed clashes resumed, however, later the sides coordinated yet another ceasefire.
Earlier in the day, the presidents of the two former Soviet republics held phone talks on how to stabilize the situation in the border region and expressed commitment to resolve the conflict peacefully.
