Live Updates: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Reach Deal on Ceasefire, Withdrawal of Troops From Contact Line

BISHKEK (Sputnik) - Kyrgyzstan does not claim foreign territory, but does not intend to share its own either, Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev said during a meeting with his Tajik counterpart, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, on Thursday.

The top diplomats were discussing the border conflict between the two Central Asian countries.

"The Kyrgyz side does not claim foreign territories and does not intend to share its land with anyone," Kazakbaev said, as quoted by the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry in a statement.

According to the statement, the Kyrgyz top diplomat stressed that all border issues need to be resolved at the negotiating table.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Kyrgyzstan set up a response center to monitor the situation on the country’s border with Tajikistan amid the deadly shootout on Thursday, the government’s press office said.

"On the orders of Kyrgyz Prime Minister Ulukbek Maripov, a response center was created to coordinate and monitor the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border. During the meeting of the response center, it was noted that the government of the Kyrgyz Republic is taking all measures to resolve and study the current situation," the government said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev announced the beginning of negotiations with his Tajik counterpart, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, on the situation on the border of the two countries.

"Right now, I am in talks with the Tajik side. As a result of the dialogue, the foreign ministry will make an official statement. We have not yet handed a note of protest to the Tajik embassy," Kazakbaev told Vesti.kg.

Kazakbaev hopes that soon the parties will be able to localize the conflict on the border, the publication added.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Kyrgyz Prime Minister Ulukbek Maripov and his Tajik counterpart, Kokhir Rasulzoda, will meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Russia’s Kazan to discuss escalations at the border, the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers said.

"Today, on April 29 of this year, after the end of the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, an unscheduled bilateral meeting between Kyrgyz Prime Minister Ulukbek Maripov and Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda is planned. The heads of government of the two countries will discuss the current situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border," the government said in a statement.

The Kyrgyz parliament is ready to take immediate measures on a legislative level to resolve the current crisis at the border with Tajikistan, the parliament’s press office told Sputnik on Thursday.

"Lawmakers from the Jogurqu Kenes [the parliament] … expressed their readiness to take immediate measures to resolve the current situation in Batken region at the legislative level. During the meeting, the issue of providing assistance to compatriots living in the border zone was also discussed," the press office said.

The parliament on Thursday considered the issue of the state border and was briefed by the representatives of the State Committee for National Security, the Interior Ministry and a number of other state bodies behind closed doors.