Has Tajikistan renounced territorial claims?

According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, on October 2, 2023, another Joint Meeting of the government delegations of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the delimitation and demarcation of the Tajik-Kyrgyz state border took place in the city of Batken, Kyrgyzstan.

The Tajik delegation was headed by the Chairman of the State Committee for National Security, Saymumin Yatimov, while the Kyrgyz delegation was led by the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Chairman of the State Committee for National Security, Kamchybek Tashiev.

“The heads of the delegations of the Republic of Tajikistan S.S. Yatimov and the Kyrgyz Republic K.K. Tashiev expressed full mutual understanding of the need to activate further description of the project line of the Tajik-Kyrgyz state border in the remaining sections and gave corresponding instructions to the working groups,” the statement noted.

It was also reported that the topographic working groups and legal working groups of the government delegations of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the delimitation and demarcation of the Tajik-Kyrgyz state border “will continue their work on describing the project line of the Tajik-Kyrgyz state border in the remaining sections.”

Following the joint meeting, a protocol was signed, the statement noted.

At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan did not provide details of the negotiations or the signed protocol. It is unclear what results the parties reached during the negotiations.

The chairmen of the State Committees for National Security of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan expressed satisfaction with the signed protocol in their statements, emphasizing that this protocol will resolve all border issues.

Tashiev stated that a final decision on the determination of state borders will be made soon, and that the border will be peaceful, stable, and the peoples will live in friendship and harmony.

According to Radio Ozodi, a journalist close to Tashiev, Nurgazy Anarkulov, reported on his Facebook page that “the Tajik side has for the first time in thirty years renounced all its claims, and the demands of the Kyrgyz side have been met.” The Tajik side has not yet reacted to this statement.

At the same time, on September 15, when the heads of state of Central Asia, including Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, met with Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe, the Chairman of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan, Kamchybek Tashiev, told journalists that if Tajikistan does not renounce its territorial claims against Kyrgyzstan, then Kyrgyzstan may present its claims to the neighboring country based on historical documents.