Russia is ready to consider providing assistance to Tajikistan, which has been heavily hit by natural disasters and economic crisis, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said.
"Everybody faces difficulties during the global [economic] crisis, and Tajikistan has also faced problems caused by natural cataclysms. We know this, and of course, I am ready to discuss with you everything concerning the overcoming of these difficulties," Putin told his Tajik counterpart Akil Akilov during a meeting of the heads of the CIS countries' governments in St. Petersburg on Friday.
Akilov asked Russia to help Tajikistan maintain its economy and provide assistance to civilians affected by recent mudslides in the Central Asian country.
Sixteen people have been killed and 40 have been missing following the mudslides that hit Tajikistan's south in early May. More than 1,500 houses, dozens of bridges, thousands of kilometers of roads and some 2,500 hectares of plantations have been damaged by the disaster.
ST. PETERSBURG, May 22 (RIA Novosti)
