What the Russian Foreign Ministry neglects to mention is that Tajikistan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization that Russia is compelled to defend; Afghanistan is not. Neither does Tajikistan threaten the national security of Afghanistan. And standing behind any advance on Tajikistan is Pakistan. There is no room for neutrality or false equivalence.
Just as a year ago Russia was also compelled to defend CSTO member Armenia against the assault launched against it by Azerbaijan and Turkey. Instead it abandoned it.
Tomorrow Belarus may discovers what Russia’s CSTO commitments are worth.

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Moscow urges Dushanbe, Kabul to seek ways to settle border tension, says Russian diplomat
It is reported that there are reports of the sides pulling armed forces to the shared border

Moscow is calling on Dushanbe and Kabul to seek mutually acceptable alternatives to settle tensions on the Tajik-Afghan border, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department Alexey Zaitsev said at a briefing on Thursday.

“We are observing with concern the growing tension in Tajik-Afghan relations against the background of the mutually acrimonious statements by the leaders of both countries. There are reports of the sides pulling armed forces to the shared border. <…> We are urging Dushanbe and Kabul to seek mutually acceptable alternatives to settle the current situation.”