The United States and Russia are not competing for influence in Central Asia and have identical views on regional problems, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs said.

Confidential messages by U.S. diplomats working in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, were recently leaked by WikiLeaks. They showed that the United States was concerned about Moscow’s mounting influence in Tajikistan.

The United States is not concerned about Russia’s wish to increase its presence in Tajikistan, Robert Blake noted in a phone conference with regional press, the U.S. embassy in Dushanbe said.

“The United States and Russia are equally concerned about the situation in Tajikistan, and the United States is optimistic about relations with Russia in Central Asian affairs,” he said.

The U.S. embassy abstained from comment on WikiLeaks materials, and the Tajik Foreign Ministry described them as “imaginary and provocative.”

The United States and Russia develop cooperation in the assistance to coalition forces in Afghanistan and have identical views on Central Asian problems, the diplomat said.