Russia says ready to help secure Tajik-Afghan border

Russia's military base in Tajikistan is fully equipped to help secure its border with Afghanistan, and Moscow will take extra measures to protect it if needed, Interfax quoted Russian deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko as saying on Tuesday.

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon on Monday ordered the mobilization of 20,000 military reservists to bolster the border with Afghanistan after more than 1,000 Afghan security personnel fled across the frontier in response to Taliban militant advances.