DUSHANBE (Satrapia) — Tajikistan could always count on Russia’s support for stabilization of the situation in the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said here at a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on Tuesday.

“Tajikistan was faced with certain problems, with attempts to destabilize the state”, Putin said. “I want to say that we adequately measure these threats. Tajikistan could always count on our help and support”, he added.

Putin also emphasized that Tajik law enforcement agencies and armed forces are successfully dealing with the problems that arise. “Tajikistan is our strategic partner and ally. Russia worries about a potential spill over of violence from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and other Central Asian states”, said Putin.

On September 4, a group of gunmen, led by Major General Abduhalim Nazarzoda, the country’s former deputy defence minister launched two attacks on the outskirts of the capital Dushanbe and in the town of Vahdat, just outside the capital. Eight police officers were killed and twelve others were wounded in these attacks. The Interior Ministry said that about 150 members of Nazarzoda group were killed and arrested consequently. Nazarzoda, his alleged associate Colonel Juhaidulloh Umarov, and several other gunmen then fled to the Romit gorge, where security forces are targeting them in a large-scale manhunt.

Visiting Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev qualified here on Monday the recent terror attacks in Tajikistan as organized with involvement of forces from outside the country. “They are attempting Tajikistan, trying to get through, to destabilize. The recent events inside the country must have resulted from outside interference”, Nazarbayev told a news conference after his talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. “We are aware of all those problems and know that Tajikistan is an outpost in fighting terrorism and extremism in Central Asia”, he said.