DUSHANBE, April 16, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik experts have differed in opinion over the recent inspection by Russian officials of a Moscow-bound Tajik train.

Thus, Abdughani Mamadazimov, head of the Association of Political Scientists of Tajikistan, attributes that inspection to the delay in ratification of the agreement on the lease for the Russian military base in Tajikistan.

“It has become a tradition that the Kremlin uses Rospoterbnadzor (the Federal Service for Control in the Sphere of Protection Consumers'' Rights and Well-Being of Humans) to make pressure on Tajikistan when it does not get what it wants.”

According to him, the main reason for the recent inspection of a Tajik train by Russian officials is the delay in ratification of the agreement on the conditions of Russian military base’s stay in Tajikistan that was signed in Dushanbe on October 5, 2012.

“The Russian authorities consider that this delay is unreasonable, and therefore, they want to make pressure on Tajikistan through proposing to introduce new passport restrictions and suspending Tajik rail service to Russia,” Mamadazimov told Asia-Plus in an interview.

Meanwhile, Suhrob Sharipov, member of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament, is convinced that inspection of the Tajik train was a personal initiative of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Russia’s chief sanitary inspector Gennady Onishchenko.  “We are well aware of their great “love” for Tajikistan,” said Sharipov.  “Apparently, the goal was to touch Tajikistan on the raw  and they gained their end because Tajik trains really do not meet sanitary requirements.”

Tajik expert is sure that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not agree to such intrigues.  “All this harms the geopolitical interests of Russia and its interests in Central Asia.  Putin will not agree to that; on contrary, he speaks about integration of all post-Soviet nations under Russia’s leadership,” Sharipov said.

We will recall that Russian officials have threatened to ban trains from Tajikistan, complaining that sleeper trains heading to Moscow from the country are unacceptably dirty and pose a health risk.  The border service also expressed concerns over rampant drug smuggling.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, whose portfolio includes defense, ostentatiously toured a Moscow-bound Tajik train on April 14 and declared it unfit for carrying humans. Rogozin also suggested that Tajiks could be subject to new passport restrictions.

Russia''s chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko told Russian media about the health “risks” of the trains.

Russian border service has proposed to suspend Tajik rail service to Russia altogether.  Russian border service chief Vladimir Mochalov noted on April 15 that “The Ministry of Transport of Russia along with Russian Railways proposed to submit to the Council for Rail Transport of the CIS countries a document aimed at suspending rail links with the Republic of Tajikistan in the existing form in order to address revealed shortcomings.”