Tajikistan rejects Russian border role

DUSHANBE:

Tajikistan on Wednesday denied it needed Russian help in guarding its volatile border with Afghanistan, after cross-border attacks by armed militants there killed five Chinese workers last month.

Neither Tajikistan nor Afghanistan have revealed detailed information about the identity of the attackers.

Tajikistan has called them "members of an armed terrorist group", while Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have described them as elements "seeking to create disorder" and pledged to investigate.

In a statement, the Central Asian country's foreign ministry denied being in discussions with the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) about the possibility of Moscow deploying troops to help patrol the border.

"The situation at the state border remains stable and is under the full control of the competent authorities," it added.