Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan Finalize Border Demarcation Deal to End Conflict

By Staff, Agencies

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have officially signed an agreement to demarcate their shared border, aiming to resolve a long-standing territorial dispute that has led to deadly clashes in recent years.

The border conflict, particularly intense around the Kyrgyz town of Batken, resulted in multiple skirmishes in 2021 and 2022, culminating in a six-day battle in September 2022.

The new agreement, signed in Bishkek by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon, also includes the restoration of transportation links—road, rail, and air—that had been suspended since the 2022 conflict.

Border disputes between the two nations date back to the Soviet era when Moscow first established administrative boundaries in the ethnically mixed Central Asian region.

Both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan maintain strong ties with Russia, hosting Russian military bases and relying on labor migration to the country.