At the state border of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, 1400 square kilometers of area are subject to delimitation and demarcation. Of this area, 994 km² have been jointly surveyed and clarified, and 290 km² have been agreed upon. According to the information from the government commission of the Kyrgyz Republic on the delimitation and demarcation of the state border with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the agreed section passes through the territories of the Jalal-Abad and Talas regions of Kyrgyzstan. There remain 406 square kilometers of unexamined areas—adjacent sections in the Batken and Osh regions of Kyrgyzstan and the Andijan and Fergana regions of Uzbekistan.
The disputed areas continue to be the territories in the regions of the enclaves of Barak and Sokh on the border of Kyrgyzstan with Uzbekistan, in the Gava and Gavasai ravines. Such data were presented by the government commission at a meeting of the committee on national security of the Legislative Assembly of the parliament of Kyrgyzstan.
Border negotiations between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan began in February 2000 (21 meetings have been held). The Kyrgyz side proposed to establish the state border based on the results of the work of the Parity Commission of the Governments of the Kyrgyz SSR and the Uzbek SSR in 1955 and the description of the state border, which was approved by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kyrgyz SSR on March 30, 1961. The Uzbek side, on the other hand, proposed to conduct delimitation based on the documents of national-territorial demarcation from 1924-1927. Failing to reach a consensus, the parties only exchanged signed topographic maps with their versions of the state border line, based on which negotiations are still ongoing.
In the sphere of land-territorial and mutual economic relations with Uzbekistan, over 70 plots in the Kadamjai, Batken, Karasuu, and Aravan districts of the Osh region of Kyrgyzstan have been identified as disputed.
In the Kadamjai district, 654.5 hectares have been illegally developed by farms from the Fergana, Rishtan, and Alty-Aryk districts of the Fergana region of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which (in addition to 10 recreational zones of Uzbekistan organizations) has two major industrial facilities of regional significance in the district: the Fergana oil refining base—53.8 hectares; the North-Sokh reservoir—317.5 hectares.
Additionally, in March 1994, on the border with the Kadamjai district (in the locality of Javagy, Fergana district), without coordination with Kyrgyzstan, the Uzbek side began construction of an environmentally harmful carbide production plant (production capacity—200,000 tons of carbide per year) and intends to illegally develop carbide raw material reserves located in the Kadamjai district (foothills of Arpalik). The unresolved land disputes allow Uzbekistan to extract oil and gas from the subsoil of this area. Of the 175 existing oil and 14 gas wells, as of today, 60 and 11 wells are operational, respectively, supplying approximately 80 tons of oil and 20,000 m³ of gas daily.
A part of the territory of the Karasuu district, measuring 110 hectares, was transferred to the Kurghantepa district of the Andijan region as a result of straightening the riverbed of the border river Shar-khan-Sai.
Disputes arise regarding Uzbekistan's long-term lease of 6885 hectares of rain-fed pastures in the Aravan district, transferred to the farms of the Marhamat district of Uzbekistan in 1995, with no rental payment having been made. It has also been established that, according to the land inventory of 1991, the Marhamat district of Uzbekistan has 159 hectares of arable land, 134 hectares of irrigation networks, and 41 hectares of perennial crops belonging to the Aravan district.
Disputed territories between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan
In the Jalal-Abad region, the disputed areas with Uzbekistan total 264.569 hectares. The state acts adopted by the parity commission in 1995 do not satisfy either party.
As follows from the provided information regarding the delimitation of the state border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the disputed border issues are of a very complex nature and their resolution is a long-term task.
Moreover, certain disputed territories of Kyrgyzstan with Uzbekistan have been converted into military state farms. In particular, a military state farm has been established on the border between the city of Kyzyl-Kiya of Kyrgyzstan and the city of Kuvasay of Uzbekistan for the purpose of using an orchard, part of which is located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan.
Today, from official statements by government officials, it is known that out of 1225 km that make up the length of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, about 1000 km have already been delimited, i.e., the main part.
Sokh enclave. According to the description of the state border approved by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kyrgyz SSR on March 30, 1961, the borders of the Chonqar and Sokh sections of the Republic of Uzbekistan appear as two enclaves—separate sections located within the Batken region of the Kyrgyz Republic. However, on the exchanged signed topographic maps of the Uzbek side, the Uzbek-Kyrgyz state border is drawn connecting these two enclaves with the main territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan and eliminating the interspersing, i.e., practically indicating the liquidation of the enclaves.
As a result, it turns out that Uzbekistan intends to include approximately 10.3 hectares of land from the Batken and Kadamjai districts of the Batken region, effectively dividing the Batken region into two interspersed enclave sections.
The Uzbek enclave appeared in Kyrgyzstan in 1955. Since gaining independence in 1991, Uzbekistan has sought free access to the enclave via Kyrgyz roads.
The area of the enclave is 325 km², with a population of 52,000 people living in 19 villages, with 99% of the population being ethnic Tajiks and 0.72% being Kyrgyz. The strategic significance of the enclave is the control over transport routes in the western part of Kyrgyzstan.
On February 26, 2001, a Kyrgyz-Uzbek memorandum was adopted to regulate the legal foundations of the delimitation of the state border between the two countries. This document emphasizes the advisability of connecting the Sokh enclave with the rest of Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan, in turn, is to receive Uzbek lands, albeit not as picturesque and fertile. In April 2001, the content of the agreement became known to the Kyrgyz public through press publications. Since then, the "passions over Sokh" have flared up with particular intensity, once again proving the high significance of factors such as water use, land resource scarcity, etc., in interethnic relations. Uzbekistan requests the transfer of part of Kyrgyz territory with the aim of creating a wide passage connecting the Sokh enclave, as well as the adjacent so-called Burgandinsky oil and gas massif (a total of 11,000 hectares) with the main territory of Uzbekistan. According to the 1992 agreement concluded between the CIS countries, all objects of other states that were on their territory before December 1, 1990, passed into the ownership of the countries of location. This agreement also applies to the gas and oil fields located in the Batken region. However, the then-government of Kyrgyzstan, citing the inability to engage in extraction independently, granted Uzbekistan the opportunity for further exploitation of the local energy reserves. The oil extraction installations occupy 184 hectares of land, the North-Sokh gas storage facility—360 hectares, and gas pipelines, a bus depot, and a substation occupy another 320. For the Fergana Valley, with its high population density and land scarcity, this is a significant amount. It should be noted that on the territory of Kyrgyzstan (in the Laylak district of the Batken region), there is also an Uzbek gas pipeline occupying an area of 3600 hectares.
Shakhimardan enclave. The delimitation in the area of the Chimion volost, which included Shakhimardan, did not foresee the creation of an enclave on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Along the Shakhimardan River, there were two volosts—Joo-Kesek-Boston and Chimion, the first fully passed to the Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast, while the border was drawn through the territory of the second. Its description states: “(the border) then proceeds along the road to Chimion, leaving the villages of Chimion, Mindan, and Kurghanch in Uzbekistan, follows between the villages of Khalmion (remains in Kyrgyzstan) and Tash-Tyube (passes to Uzbekistan), bypassing height 2820, approaches the Shakhimardan River above VUadilya. Further, the border goes along the northern spurs of the Alka-Kara mountains through the villages of Lyagan, Gulpyon, Karatepe (leaving them in Uzbekistan), encompassing the lower reaches of the Isfayram River from the village of Balaykish.” Thus, the settlements of Shakhimardan and Jordan, primarily populated by Tajiks and located 25-30 km above VUadilya between the mountain ranges of Kursala and Belmazar, remained part of Kyrgyzstan.
Nevertheless, such a border arrangement did not satisfy Kyrgyzstan, which in 1925 proposed its own version of the description (from east to west): “[the border] goes along the old volost border of the Naiman volost, leaving the village of Chekalik in it. Then, leaving the villages of Kurghanch, Mindan, and Chimion in Uzbekistan and including the villages of Khalmion and Tash-Tyube (population—Kyrgyz) in the RSFSR, it goes along the northern border of the Yaukesek-Boston volost, leaving the village of Mamai in the RSFSR, until it intersects with the river Sokh.”
Later, opinions diverged. The leadership of Kyrgyzstan considered it necessary to annex the villages of Chimion and VUadilya to its territories, as the former “leaned towards the Yau-Kezek-Boston volost,” while around the latter “Kyrgyz villages of Kara-Dzhantak, Jabai, Dzhailma, Tash-Kurghan, Ak-Tash, Tash-Tobe with a population of over 1000 people were located.” At the same time, the leaders of the Osh district insisted on the complete inclusion of the Chimion volost into Kyrgyzstan. This opinion was dictated by the fact that out of the villages that were part of the Chimion volost—Chekalik, Mindan, Novgardan, Arab, Chimion, Kyzyl-Kishlak, Kytal, Tash-Teppe, Yashuk, Tash-Kurghan, Aktan, Naukat, VUadilya, Kara-Yantak, Dzhailma, Kaptar-khana—only three villages (Mindan, Chimion, VUadilya) and part of the Naukat village were populated by Uzbeks. Tajiks populated the village of Kaptarhana and part of the village of Dlsailma, “the remaining villages are populated by Kyrgyz,” the workers of the Osh district administration pointed out.
The description of the border was left unchanged. However, the villages of Shakhimardan and Jordan ended up under the administrative jurisdiction of Uzbekistan, indicating a certain confusion in the work of the territorial commission and the disregard of Tashkent for its decisions. After two years of delimitation, the authorities of the Osh district could not bring the borders in line with its description even in those areas where sharp disagreements did not arise. In August 1926, the leaders of the Osh district were forced to state that “it is necessary to include two villages, currently administratively subordinate to Uzbekistan and populated by Tajik residents, into Kyrgyzstan.”
The provided data also indicate the groundlessness of the assertion that Shakhimardan was allegedly gifted to Uzbekistan by the then leadership of Kyrgyzstan (the name of the chairman of the Central Executive Committee A. Orozbekov is usually mentioned. — A.K.). On the contrary, the materials from those years indicate that the Central Executive Committee of Kyrgyzstan, headed by A. Orozbekov, sought to implement the description of the border in this section. On March 15, 1927, the Central Executive Committee of Kyrgyzstan, having specifically considered the dispute over Shakhimardan, ruled as follows: “...given that the external border of the Kyrgyz ASSR and the Uzbek SSR, approved by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR in the area of the Shakhimardan River, is accurately described, namely: it encompasses the lower reaches of the Isfayram River from the village of Balaykish and through the villages of Kara-Teppe, Gulpyon, Lyagan (leaving them to Uzbekistan) along the northern spurs of the Alka-Kara mountains, approaches the Shakhimardan River above VUadilya along the current and, bypassing height 2820, goes between the villages of Tash-Teppe (passes to Uzbekistan) and Khalmion (remains in the RSFSR), then, leaving the villages of Kurghanch, Mindan, and Chimion in Uzbekistan, goes along the road to the Sarykamish ravine, to state that the sections of Shakhimardan and Jordan undoubtedly belong to the Kyrgyz ASSR. To recognize that the existing Shakhimardan village council, subordinate to Uzbekistan, is subject to immediate liquidation with the organization of the Shakhimardan village council as part of the Osh canton. To propose to the Osh kantispolkom to organize and formalize the Shakhimardan village council. To request the Central Asian Commission on Demarcation to establish a deadline for the liquidation of the Shakhimardan village council subordinate to the Uzbek government. In case of delays in the issue of liquidation by the government of the Uzbek SSR, to inform through the Central Executive Committee of the USSR.” Here, the position of the Central Executive Committee of Kyrgyzstan is clearly expressed, and there seems to be no grounds to assume the existence of some oral agreement between A. Orozbekov and the chairman of the Central Executive Committee of Uzbekistan Akhunbaev regarding the transfer of Shakhimardan as a gift to Uzbekistan. We do not know whether the Central Executive Committee of the USSR intervened in the dispute over this section, but it is known for sure that the initial description of the border in this section remained unchanged. However, Shakhimardan remained under the jurisdiction of Uzbekistan, thus forming a legally illegal enclave on the territory of Kyrgyzstan.