Russia urges Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to dialogue to resolve the differences between the two countries.
“We can not observe this with ignorance. They are our strategic partners and our old neighbors,” the visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the reporters in Dushanbe.
He said Russia would like to see normal relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, “relations that would ensure good neighborly atmosphere.”
Lavrov believes that the only way out of this situation is to settle all existing problems through the dialogue. “We urge Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to start this dialogue as soon as possible,” Russian Foreign Minister stressed.
He said Tajikistan and Uzbekistan do have close contact but “still fail to initiate the dialogue on the issues of mutual concern.”
He said those countries which develop partner relations with Central Asian countries, including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, “should contribute to such a dialogue and negotiations that would lead to mutually acceptable results and resolve the existing differences.”
