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Kyrgyz president refuses to visit Uzbekistan if border disputes persist

Xinhua, March 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said Thursday he would not go to neighboring Uzbekistan for the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit if border disputes between the two countries were not resolved.

"We need peace and friendship, but we have to defend our own interests," Atambayev said.

Long-running border disputes between the two Central Asian countries flared up recently as the two sides both beefed up their military presence along a section of the disputed border, citing security concerns.

The standoff, which took place in the Ala-Buka region, ended after officials from the two countries reached an agreement to ease the tension,Kyrgyz border services said Thursday.

The two former Soviet countries share a border of 1,378 km, 371 km of which are disputed. There are 58 disputed sections along the border, 28 of which are in the Ala-Buka and Aksy regions. Endi