US sees strong Tajik ties ahead of Afghan withdrawal

General James Mattis, the head of US Central Command, on Saturday held talks with Takjik President Emomali Rakhmon as Washington seeks continued support for its military operation in next-door Afghanistan.Tajikistan would like to see further strengthening of the development of ties with the United States in the sphere of security and the establishment of peace and stability in the region, Rakhmon told the visiting US general in comments released by his office.Mattis for his part thanked Tajikistan for its support of the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan, saying Washington would continue providing assistance to the impoverished Central Asian nations army and border guards, the Tajik statement said.The need to ramp up such cooperation is increasing, especially from 2014, that is upon the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Afghanistan, said the statement.Tajikistan, which shares a porous 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with war-ravaged Afghanistan, agreed in 2009 to permit the overland transit of non-military supplies intended for NATO operations in Afghanistan.Under NATOs strategy, Afghan army and police are due to take over security for the whole of the country by the end of 2014, while the United States hopes to keep a small force in place post-2014 pending negotiations with the Kabul government.