Russia, Tajikistan agree to bolster guarding of Tajik-Afhgan border

Russia and Tajikistan agreed to bolster guarding of the former Soviet republic's border with Afghanistan to prevent a spillover of the conflict there, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

"We have agreed to make an effort on the protection of the Tajik-Afghan border, including using the existing Russian military base in Tajikistan," Putin said after meeting his Tajik counterpart Imomali Rakhmon in the capital Dushanbe.

Last year Tajikistan boosted troop numbers on its frontier with Afghanistan, due to security threats from armed smugglers, kidnappers and Islamist insurgents.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)