According to Starodubets, Moscow is taking all measures to bring the positions of Dushanbe and Tashkent closer to each other. "There are no insurmountable obstacles in these relations and Russia is doing everything possible so that friendly relations between the leadership of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and between the peoples of these countries strengthened," he thinks. He added that: "For us it is important [to have good] relations both with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as with other CIS countries. Historically fully formed relations with the countries of the CIS do not allow Russia to disregard these relations."

At the same time, the deputy director of the Strategic Research Centre under the president of Tajikistan, Sayfullo Safarov, in an interview with the Regnum news agency correspondent has said that Russia is capable of resolving existing discrepancies between Tashkent and Dushanbe. "From the point of view of geopolitical interests, Russia is interested in the fact that there were good relations between these two Central Asian countries. Russia’s approach towards the entire region depends on how relations are formed between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan," Safarov said.