Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reached an agreement to demilitarise a conflict-afflicted section of their shared borders on September 25, 2022. However, the dispute is far from over.

The entire Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is shaking, with war between Russia and Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and now between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The former Soviet Republics are all observing and ongoing shattering of the existing order with uncertainty and fear.

What is the next?
The Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) offered diplomatic mediation in the past; however, there was no positive response from the two parties. Furthermore, the CSTO has not previously developed a mechanism to solve similar problems. It is known that after the disollution of the Soviet Union and the end of border conflicts in some countries, peacekeepers were sent to the border areas under the CIS for peacekeeping purposes. However, such a system fails to solve the root of the problem.

As the CSTO has failed to resolve the border crisis, each country tries to defend its borders or territories with external support or its own means. While Tajikistan enjoys significant support from Russia and, more recently, from Iran; it seems that Kyrgyzstan is seeking a similar way to balance the power of its neighbour.

Many experts see the solution to the conflict between the two Central Asian nations in border demarcation. Yet, this process can be a complicated one, keeping in mind the natural resources and the location of houses in a chessboard form of border communities. Therefore, to manage the current situation, interventions by Governments of both the countries are needed to strengthen cooperation, increase capacity building in resource management, promote effective inter-ministerial coordination and improve independent monitoring systems, as well as a more substantial involvement of local users and stakeholders.

Lastly, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan need an intergovernmental agreement to define property rights, and use water and pasture resources.

Source: Talk Diplomacy (Instagram)

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das