DUSHANBE – Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon says NATO troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 will affect regional security.
In his annual address to the Parliament on April 20, Rahmon said that Tajikistan which has a 1,300-kilometer-long border with Afghanistan, is “a buffer zone” on the route of illegal Afghan drugs smuggled to Russia and Europe.
Rahmon said that, although there are some positive achievements in Afghanistan, the stabilization process there is not yet irreversible.
Rahmon said that the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan would “double our responsibilities in the region,” adding that "the world community must take this responsibility into account."
NATO troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
In his annual address to the Parliament on April 20, Rahmon said that Tajikistan which has a 1,300-kilometer-long border with Afghanistan, is “a buffer zone” on the route of illegal Afghan drugs smuggled to Russia and Europe.
Rahmon said that, although there are some positive achievements in Afghanistan, the stabilization process there is not yet irreversible.
Rahmon said that the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan would “double our responsibilities in the region,” adding that "the world community must take this responsibility into account."
NATO troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.