Kyrgyzstan will no longer deploy heavy weaponry along its borders with neighboring countries, Kamchybek Tashiyev, Chairman of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) of Kyrgyzstan, announced during a visit to the Karalyk Border Post in the Chon-Alai district, according to AKIpress.
According to Tashiyev, territorial disputes with neighboring states have been fully resolved: "There are no more disputed areas. There were even armed clashes in the past. How many of our heroes, the border guards, who protected our borders and our land, have died? I hope there will be no such conflicts in the future, as there is nothing left to dispute."
The security chief also noted that due to changes in border policy, the government is revising regulations regarding the use of firearms and the size of armed units stationed along the borders.
"Border guards will no longer use heavy weaponry or heavy machinery. We are removing all of this in coordination with neighboring countries. Only light firearms will remain in service," Tashiyev said, adding that border guards are transitioning to a lighter duty regime.
Earlier, Tashiyev had suggested that the need for a permanent border guard presence between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan could soon be eliminated. Currently, engineering work is underway on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border to establish barbed wire fences on the Kyrgyz side.
The total length of the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is 1,008.14 km, with the first phase of the fencing project covering 420 km.
A border agreement signed on March 13 this year in Bishkek finalized the demarcation process between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. On March 31, a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan took place in the Tajik northern city of Khujand, where leaders signed an agreement on the border points where the three countries meet, along with the Khujand Declaration of Eternal Friendship.
