The situation with the trucks stuck at the Turkmen border remains unchanged: Turkmen customs officers are denying access to Turkmenistan to the cargos en route to Tajikistan, the news outlet “Asia Plus” reported on 19 September.
“Some trucks are being held at the Turkmenistan borders whereas others are moving toward the Azerbaijan border in order to get to Tajikistan via the territories of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan”, the Russian Federal Ministry of Transportation reported.
Earlier, Tajikistan’s Ministry of Transportation had recommended that truck drivers use alternative routes: drive to Baku to take a ferry bound to Kazakhstan’s port of Aktau on the Caspian Sea and head to Tajikistan through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
According to Hairulli Abidov, an executive of a freight forwarder, four of his cargo trucks got stuck in Iran and another two on the territory of Uzbekistan.
He explained that two of his company’s cargo trucks turned round to head to the Azerbaijan border and hence to Tajikistan following the advice of the Ministry of Transportation. According to him, the drivers of the other trucks returned home, leaving the vehicles at car parks near the Turkmen border.
The news outlet reports that several trucks managed to reach the border of Tajikistan through the territory of Turkmenistan. These were allegedly trucks carrying cargo for companies which are involved in construction work to build a mosque in Dushanbe.
Since late August, semi trucks from Iran and Turkey have been unable to crossthe Turkmen border to transport cargo to Tajikistan.
Radio “Ozodi” reported that cargo trucks en route to Tajikistan have been stopped at the Turkmen border for security reasons.
This wording was quoted in the official letter forwarded by Turkmenistan to Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.