Tajikistan, hoping to increase its own national security as cheaply as possible, has made clear its long term dependence upon Russia as well as other CIS member states. The smooth transfer of military property that has denoted the creation of Russia's military base in Dushanbe... MORE

Tajikistan has recently implemented measures aimed at fostering its military and security cooperation with Iran, as it seeks to diversify its foreign sources for security assistance. On April 20 Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khayrulloyev met his Iranian counterpart, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, in Tehran and... MORE

On April 15 Russian border guards began their long-awaited withdrawal from the "Moskva" patrolled areas of the Tajik-Afghan border, handing over control of the sensitive area to Tajikistani border units. Despite Russia's apparent step back from its well-established role in Tajik border security, Moscow will... MORE

On the night of December 25-26, 2004, law-enforcement officials in Tajikistan attempted to apprehend a member of the Islamic terrorist organization Bayat, Ali Aminov, in the village of Chorku, Isfara district, Sogdy oblast (northern Tajikistan). Law-enforcement agents had received a tip that Aminov was hiding... MORE

As preparations continue for the transfer of sections of the Tajik-Afghan border to full control by the border service of Tajikistan, Dushanbe's search for American financial support for the venture is rapidly escalating. Bilateral talks between the United States and Tajikistan, currently in progress in... MORE

On November 16, Russian border troops began the handover of sections of the Tajik-Afghan border to Tajikistan's border guards. The handover is regulated by the intergovernmental agreements on Cooperation on Border Protection and On Procedures for the Transfer of Border Units and their Property, signed... MORE

Visiting Tajikistan on October 16-17 to mark the ratification and entry into force of a military basing agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin observed that relations with Tajikistan exemplified Russia's "comprehensive approach" to dealing with post-Soviet countries. That approach entails coordination of the military-security and economic... MORE

On October 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurated the now legal Russian military base in Tajikistan. One day earlier in Dushanbe, Putin and Tajikistan President Imomali Rakhmonov exchanged the instruments of ratification for the April 1999 agreement that conferred basing rights on the Russian Army... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin's official visit to Tajikistan, originally due earlier this year, rescheduled for the first half of September and then for October 4-5, is now expected in the second half of October (Avesta, October 1). Differences over both substance and details on four... MORE

In the aftermath of 9/11 and NATO's renewed strategic emphasis on developing its partnership with the Central Asian states, Tajikistan has increasingly sought to enhance its security assistance from foreign states. With this strategy, Tajikistan's leaders risk damaging their security relations with Moscow, though they... MORE