Kyrgyz, Tajik presidents discuss border clash over phone

BISHKEK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyz president Sooronbai Jeenbekov and Tajik president Emomali Rahmon held a phone conversation over the border situation between the two countries, the press service of the Kyrgyz president said Thursday.

Jeenbekov and Rahmon noted the need to create a joint commission to objectively investigate the incident and prevent similar situations in the future, as well as to intensify negotiations on the completion of the process of delimitation of the state border.

The presidents were of the opinion that the two peoples, having age-old good-neighborly relations, should live in peace and friendship, the report said.

A construction work of the bypass road in Batken Oblast of Kyrgyzstan caused a conflict between Kyrgyz and Tajik border people on March 13.

An uninhabited old house, a car and a trailer were burned down from the Kyrgyz side, and a Kyrgyzstan citizen was injured during the clash, according to the State border Service of Kyrgyzstan.

At the moment, the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border is relatively stable, the agency said.

The total length of the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is about 980 km, of which only 504 km have been delimited.