“Since Russian border guards left Tajikistan’s 800-mile southern border with Afghanistan in 2005, where they had been posted to secure the porous frontier, Moscow defense officials have been frantically warning that it would become the next jihadi gateway into Russia. When he visited the Tajik capital of Dushanbe in April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the country is facing ‘growing threats from the south due to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, where groups of Islamic State fighters have already emerged.’”
Source: Putin to Central Asia: Let Daddy Save You From the Islamic State | Foreign Policy
