The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic strongly protests against yet another attempt by the Tajik Foreign Ministry to open a Pandora's box and destroy the fragile peace that has been maintained between the sides with great effort.

We consider provocative the statement of the Tajik Foreign Ministry, which has recently completely discredited itself in the eyes of the international community with its unfounded accusations.

The Tajik side's assertion about the existence in Kyrgyzstan of some "policy of persecution of citizens of Tajikistan and ethnic Tajiks" is completely inappropriate and demonstrates that representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan are detached from reality and have no idea about the state of affairs in the Kyrgyz Republic.

For instance, the Tajik Foreign Ministry, in its statement dated September 22, 2022, which was later urgently corrected by the Tajik side, reported on the abuse of Nasibakhon Davronbekova (an ethnic Tajik), correspondent of the Kyrgyz service of Radio Liberty. However, a post by user Davron Hotam was published on Facebook, who reported that the Tajik Foreign Ministry, by changing the information on his ethnicity and gender in its statement, used it for political purposes in order to smear the Kyrgyz law enforcement bodies. This fact of disinformation confirms that all other cases are also fakes.

At the same time, there are complaints from Kyrgyz citizens temporarily staying in the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan and frightened ethnic Kyrgyz stating that law enforcement officials of the Republic of Tajikistan without explaining the reasons are demanding to leave the country. There is also evidence of increased pressure by local authorities on Kyrgyz citizens.

International human rights organizations should investigate the situation of ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic groups in Tajikistan, which could reveal sufficient evidence of ethnic discrimination and human rights violations in Tajikistan.

The statement of the Tajik side about the violation of the airspace by Kyrgyzstan is not consistent with reality. Despite the reached agreements, the Tajik side continues to repeatedly use drones that fly in from the territory of Tajikistan, violating the airspace of Kyrgyzstan. For instance, between September 20 and 22, 2022, a Tajik drone was spotted at the Kyzyl-Bel road checkpoint in Batken Region and near the Naiman-Ashuu Pass in the Alay District of Osh Region.

Regarding the Embassy of Tajikistan in Bishkek, we emphasize that the Kyrgyz side is fully and in good faith fulfilling its international legal obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. However, there were no complaints from the diplomatic mission of Tajikistan in Kyrgyzstan about any concerns in the context of the security of property or employees and their families. This once again casts doubt on the credibility of the fabricated statements thrown into the public space by the Tajik side.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic demands from the Tajik side to stop making a feigned hysteria, to engage in false manipulation of the minds of citizens of Tajikistan using slanderous data, creating an atmosphere of intolerance, hostility and hatred.