Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government to start preparing emergency aid for Tajikistan to help tackle the aftermath of an unusually cold and long winter, his web site said on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon requested aid at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Putin “pledged that emergency humanitarian assistance will be rendered as soon as possible,” his website said.
“Following the appeal by the President of Tajikistan, Dmitry Medvedev instructed the Government of the Russian Federation to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Tajikistan to overcome the effects of abnormal winter weather conditions,” a statement posted on the Kremlin website reads.
The Russian emergencies ministry said, in its turn, that it had started preparing aid for Tajikistan.
“The task of sending emergencies ministry planes with humanitarian aid to the Republic of Tajikistan is currently being arranged,” the ministry said.
The country’s agricultural sector suffered losses of $1.3 million, livestock breeders reported losses of about $905,000. Many roads and bridges were also damaged or destroyed as a result of a long spell of cold weather.
More than 20 states sent humanitarian aid worth over $6 million to Tajikistan in January and February. The largest donors were Egypt (35.3 percent), Russia (over 18 percent), The Netherlands (15.1 percent) and Iran (6.6 percent).