Dushanbe, 9 June 1997 (RFE/RL) -- Russia's Interfax news agency is reporting that Tajikistan's government and the opposition now plan to sign a peace deal on June 27 in an effort to bring a formal end to the bitter civil war that began in 1992.
The Tajik government said Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov and opposition leader Said Abdullo Nuri had originally planned to sign the peace pact this Friday, but it was delayed for technical and organizational reasons. No further explanation was given.
Milos Sztrugar, a United Nations envoy in the republic, told Interfax that the deal will include agreements on political and military issues and on refugees, and will help establish a national reconciliation commission,
The signing ceremony is planned for Moscow. Russian President Boris Yeltsin is expected to attend along with representatives of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).