Russia To Help Tajikistan If Extremists From Afghanistan Infiltrate There - Ambassador

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2021) Russia is ready to provide any assistance to Tajikistan, both through the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and on a bilateral basis, in the event of the penetration of extremists from Afghanistan, Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Igor Lyakin-Frolov said.

"The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that in the event of such attempts, it will provide any necessary assistance to our strategic partner Tajikistan, both bilaterally and through the CSTO," the ambassador said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.

It is too early to talk about the need to involve the CSTO for a settlement on the Tajik-Afghan border, the ambassador noted.

"Russia, like the CSTO as a whole, is ready to provide Tajikistan with necessary assistance in the event of obvious aggressive actions from Afghan territory. By the way, this is what the CRRF, the Collective Rapid Reaction Force, have been created for. However, it is still too early to talk about such a reaction from the CSTO," he said.