Overview

• Presidents Vladimir Putin and Emomali Rahmon adopted a joint statement to deepen their strategic partnership, coordinate in bodies such as the CIS, SCO, CSTO and OSCE, and denounce unilateral sanctions, according to documents published by Moscow and reported by TASS.
• Russia’s National Guard signed a cooperation agreement with Tajikistan’s National Guard, with the leaders highlighting counter‑terrorism, regional stability and support for a peaceful Afghanistan in their security coordination.
• Putin said more than 97% of bilateral trade now settles in national currencies, citing expanded banking links, cross‑border transfers via Russia’s Faster Payments System and acceptance of MIR cards in Tajikistan.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there is a serious pause in dialogue with Kyiv, noting Ukraine has not responded to Moscow’s draft proposals and online working‑group plan stemming from July talks in Istanbul.
• Russian security services reported heightened enforcement actions, including the arrest of two Ulyanovsk residents on terrorism charges over a cell‑tower arson, a 19‑year‑old in Chuvashia who turned himself in after an attempted railway substation arson that the FSB links to alleged Ukrainian handlers, and the jailing of a warehouse head in a surrogate‑alcohol fatality case.