The presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed a deal on Thursday on demarcating their shared frontier, seeking to end a long-running border conflict that has seen dozens killed in skirmishes in recent years.

With final documents ready for ratification and then presidential signatures, contemporary Central Asia’s bloodiest conflict nears a conclusion.

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed on Thursday a border agreement seen as key for the stability of Central Asia, a move that follows three decades of conflict between the two former