As part of his official visit to Tajikistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on May 6 met in Dushanbe with his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Muhriddin.

The Tajik MFA information department says the migration cooperation issue the main issue at the meeting. 

The Tajik side reportedly underlined the necessity of respecting basic rights and freedoms of Tajik citizens staying in Russia.

No details were given on this issue.    

Meanwhile, media reports say that speaking to reporters after his meeting with Muhriddin, Mr. Lavrov noted that Russia almost always meets the requests of Tajikistan for granting amnesty to Tajik citizens deported from Russia.  

“We talked about cooperation in the field of labor migration.  We regularly see these issues in the line with requirements set by the presidents,” Lavrov said.

He further noted that Russia will continue to provide assistance in the modernization of Tajikistan’s military-and-technical complex.

According to him Russian vice-premiers Marat Husnullin and Aleksei Overchuk plan to visit Tajikistan from June 19-20. 

“The visit will be a good opportunity to see in the complex what else needs to be done in order to solve issues that require further consideration,” the top Russian diplomat noted. 

It is to be noted that lately, news about the mass detention of Tajikistan citizens in the Russian Federation have appeared almost daily.

Approximately 100 Tajik labor migrants were detained by police in the town of Kotelniki in Moscow oblast in the night from May 23 to May 24.  

Tajiks students studying at the Technical University in the Russia city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur told RFE/RL that police and security officers raided their dormitory on May 19, severely beating some 100 students from Tajikistan, leaving 15 students injured, some of whom need surgery. 

On May 24, Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan, Semyon Grigoryev, over this incident.   

On May 26, police officers closed doors of a mosque in Moscow oblast after Friday prayer and began to check documents of Tajik migrants.  

A video showing Russian police getting Tajik migrants out of the school stadium in Moscow’s Mozhaisk district was posted on social media on May 29.  They have been charged with violation of the rules of stay, petty hooliganism and disobedience to police officers’ orders.  Russian media reports say the migrants allegedly forced teenagers to leave the school stadium on Belovezhskaya Street so they could play soccer there themselves.  Police reportedly drew up reports against 49 migrants.  Russian media reported that police had responded to calls from local residents.  

On May 31, media reports said that dozens of Tajik labor migrants have been detained in Moscow again.  More than 150 Tajik labor migrants were reportedly taken to police station in Moscow’s Mitino district on the morning of May 30.  They were picked up in the middle of the night and taken by four buses to police station in Moscow’s Mitino district.