The President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov raised the issue of the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border within the summit of the CSTO member states in Dushanbe yesterday.
He called on the partners to develop mechanisms for rapid response and decision-making within the CSTO in case of an armed aggression by one member state of the organization against another.
This proposal was considered absurd in Russia, Gazeta.ru reports. The media outlet quotes statements by the First Deputy Chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma Alexander Sherin. «The CSTO members should, of course, be a united team and stand up for each other. If there is any conflict, then we should try to resolve it. As for developing a mechanism of action, if one CSTO country attacks another ... This does not correspond to the principles of the treaty, which provides for collective protection from an external aggressor,» the media quoted the deputy as saying.
Stanislav Pritchin, a senior researcher at the Center for Post-Soviet Studies at the IMEMO RAS, is also skeptical about Sadyr Japarov’s rhetoric.
«In fact, Japarov’s proposal looks somewhat absurd, because it is assumed that the countries in the union have similar positions and jointly respond to external threats. However, it is known that Kyrgyzstan is a country with a special approach in this regard. After all, when there were clashes in Osh in 2010, its then leader Roza Otunbayeva also proposed to involve the CSTO in resolving the conflict. The current proposal is an attempt to shift the responsibility for the unwillingness to resolve issues with neighbors to another level. It is very difficult to imagine what mechanisms of the CSTO will help resolve the conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,» Stanislav Pritchin said.
At least 190 Kyrgyzstanis were injured, 36 — killed, including children, in the last border conflict. More than 40,000 people were evacuated from the conflict area.
