Lavrov was informed about migrants, but he set his condition

According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, on June 6, negotiations took place in the city of Dushanbe between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, who is in Tajikistan on an official visit.

It is reported that the ministers discussed in detail the state and prospects for the development of Tajik-Russian relations in the political, trade-economic, cultural-humanitarian, and migration spheres.

It is also reported that high-ranking officials discussed the issue of Tajik labor migrants, more than 2 million of whom live and work in Russia, particularly incidents of detentions and beatings of migrants in recent weeks.

“The Tajik side emphasized the need to respect the basic rights and freedoms of Tajik citizens staying in Russia during the planned and unplanned activities carried out by Russian state authorities to regulate migration processes,” the ministry’s statement noted.

However, prior to this meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited the 201st Russian military base and stated that his country hopes that Tajikistan will soon recognize the benefits of joining the Eurasian Economic Union. He even emphasized that a special group is negotiating with the Tajik government on this matter.

Experts on the region believe that if Tajikistan raised the issue of migrants and demanded the respect of their rights, then Russia also set its condition, namely, demanded Tajikistan’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union.