Russia-Led Bloc to Help Tajikistan Boost Afghan Border Defenses

A Russia-led regional military alliance of former Soviet states will help Tajikistan strengthen its border with Afghanistan by the end of this year, the organization’s head said Tuesday. The situation on the border is deteriorating and is expected to become even worse after the withdrawal of the international troops from the war-torn country next year, said Nikolai Bordyuzha, head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. “The number of Afghan border guard outposts [on the Tajik border] has been cut in half recently. Large groups of bandits periodically show up on the border and the number of skirmishes doubled in the past 12 months,” Bordyuzha said at a meeting of Russia’s Public Chamber. CSTO members, Russia in particular, will provide Tajikistan with armaments and military hardware for free by the end of this year, Bordyuzha said. A targeted interstate program for creating relevant infrastructure on Tajik-Afghan border will be drafted soon, he said. The CSTO, which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, signed a relative agreement on aiding Tajikistan on September 23. Founded on October 7, 2002, the CSTO was registered with the UN in 2003. One of its main objectives is to provide immediate military assistance to any CSTO member in the event of a military or terrorism threat.