CHOLPON-ATA, Kyrgyzstan -- The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed hope that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will be able to resolve all border issues via peaceful means.
During his talks with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in the resort city of Cholpon-Ata on the shores of the Lake Issyk-Kul on July 2, Guterres called on Kyrgyzstan to be "a symbol of peace."
"You make great peace-building efforts, be it border issues or others. I have been to the Ferghana Valley twice and know how difficult it is to settle border issues. It's like a puzzle there. It takes effort to understand and solve everything. We believe that the border issue with Tajikistan will be resolved diplomatically, peacefully, through negotiations, as it was with Uzbekistan," Guterres said.
The delimitation and demarcation of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border has been an issue for decades, but it gained added urgency in recent years after several deadly clashes took place along disputed segments of the frontier.
In spring 2021, an armed conflict along one segment of the border left 36 people dead, including two children, and 154 injured on the Kyrgyz side.
Tajik authorities said that 19 Tajik citizens were killed and 87 were injured during the clashes. However, local residents told RFE/RL’s Tajik Service at the time that the number of people killed during the clashes was much higher.
The border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is 972 kilometers long, most of which have now been agreed upon.
Many border areas in Central Asian former Soviet republics have been disputed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan meet.
Tensions in those areas have led to clashes between local residents and border guards of the three countries.
Guterres arrived in Kyrgyzstan from Uzbekistan on July 1. He is expected to continue his Central Asian tour by visiting Kazakhstan on July 3.
