Russia's ambassador to Tajikistan was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in protest against the unfair treatment of the country's citizens, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The agency described the case as a rare dispute between the two former Soviet republics, which are now allies. The Tajik Foreign Ministry stated that it is deeply disturbed by the frequent cases of deliberate negative attitude in Russia towards citizens of the country.
The ministry did not mention the arrest in Russia of several men, who Moscow says are from Tajikistan, after the deadly attack on a concert hall in the Moscow region on March 22.
In a separate statement on Sunday, the Tajik ministry said nearly 1,000 of its nationals trying to enter Russia were blocked at Moscow's Vnukovo airport. since April 27, "without providing them with adequate sanitary conditions". It was also reported that 27 Tajiks had been deported and another 306 were on Russia's list of people to be deported, Reuters noted.
"Such restrictive measures are taken only in relation to citizens of Tajikistan," the statement said. Dozens of Tajiks are also blocked at other Moscow airports, the department added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia has temporarily tightened border controls as a measure to prevent terrorism, but is taking steps to resolve long delays at the border.
"We especially emphasize that these steps are temporary in nature and do not take into account the nationality of those arriving in Russia,", she specified. Tajikistan is a member of Russian-dominated post-Soviet economic and security organizations and has a Russian military base on its territory. The Central Asian country's economy is largely dependent on remittances from more than one million Tajik migrants working in Russia, Reuters notes.