Ashgabat, Turkmenistan Jan 29 (RFE/RL) - Talks on the Tajikistan conflict resumed today in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The new head of the Tajikistan government's delegation, Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov, is quoted as saying his team will present a proposal on Wednesday that has been influenced by this month's CIS summit in Moscow.
CIS leaders extended the Russian-led, CIS peace-keeping mission in Tajikistan for only three months, and encouraged political leaders in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe to aggressively seek a political settlement.
Opposition leader Akbar Turajonzode today told negotiators in Ashgabat that a mechanism of implementation of any agreement must be set up to gurantee its success. And the United Nations special envoy on the conflict, Ramiro Piriz Balon, said, if the two sides do not agree on a compromise solution, the U.N. will submit its own proposal.
The former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan has endured more than three years of civil war, pitting the National Reconciliation Government against pro-communist forces. Tens of thousands have been killed, and many thousands have fled as refugees. Government and opposition representatives have held periodic rounds of U.N.-mediated peace talks. Russian-led CIS troops have been deployed there, and Russian border guards are posted along the Tajik-Afghan border.
CIS leaders extended the Russian-led, CIS peace-keeping mission in Tajikistan for only three months, and encouraged political leaders in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe to aggressively seek a political settlement.
Opposition leader Akbar Turajonzode today told negotiators in Ashgabat that a mechanism of implementation of any agreement must be set up to gurantee its success. And the United Nations special envoy on the conflict, Ramiro Piriz Balon, said, if the two sides do not agree on a compromise solution, the U.N. will submit its own proposal.
The former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan has endured more than three years of civil war, pitting the National Reconciliation Government against pro-communist forces. Tens of thousands have been killed, and many thousands have fled as refugees. Government and opposition representatives have held periodic rounds of U.N.-mediated peace talks. Russian-led CIS troops have been deployed there, and Russian border guards are posted along the Tajik-Afghan border.