TASHKENT (Satrapia) — 407 hectares of Kyrgyz territory near the Kerkidan reservoir in the Too-Moyun ayil district of the Aravan district of the Osh region have been transferred to Uzbekistan in exchange for land in the Gulbaar village area at the entrance to the Aravan region.

Henceforth, the entire territory of the reservoir will belong to Uzbekistan as well as its shore. Residents of the Kyrgyz village of Kerkidan will be granted access to water and to the river that flows out of the reservoir.

Previously, part of the road from the Aravan region to Osh was part of Uzbekistan; now it crosses entirely Kyrgyzstan.

The administration of the plenipotentiary representative of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in Osh oblast stressed that “the parcels exchanged have the same size and that the exchange of land will allow border crossing.” The equal exchange initiative belongs to the Kyrgyz side.

On 10 September, an incident occurred between the inhabitants of the region and the Uzbek army on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which began to install fences at a site near the reservoir. At present, the situation at the border is calm.