Leaders of five Central Asian countries sounded the alarm over the spiral of war in neighbouring Afghanistan at a regional summit Friday, as U.S.-led forces withdraw from the country and the Taliban advances.
The talks in the Caspian Sea town of Avaza in Turkmenistan come as the militant group challenges Afghan government forces in several large cities after weeks of gains in the countryside, including in provinces next to the three former Soviet 'stans' that border the country - Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The Taliban has established official contacts with both Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as Russia and China, two important players in the region.
That differs markedly from the last time it was in power, when countries in the region - neutral Turkmenistan aside-- had offered support to the local and international forces trying to unseat the militant group.
But analysts argue that a growing security vacuum in the country can pose its own threat to the region and its growing economic cooperation with Kabul, The AFP reported.
Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon on Friday noted that the Taliban now controlled the entirety of Afghanistan's border with his mountainous country of 9.5 million people. "A number of terrorist organisations are actively strengthening their positions in these areas," Rakhmon claimed in his address to the summit.
Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev called for a full ceasefire and "mutually acceptable negotiated compromises" at talks.
Tajikistan is one of the few neighbours of Afghanistan that has not hosted a delegation from the Taliban as it presents itself as a government-in-waiting.
