MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti) - Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov today called Russia Tajikistan's "sole strategic ally" and said there were no unsolvable problems in bilateral relations.

"There are some nuances between ministries and departments as is usually the case, but we will solve them," Rakhmonov said at a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin.

According to the Tajik leader, the two countries are successfully implementing agreements in the hydroelectric sphere and non-ferrous metallurgy, which were signed during Putin's visit to Dushanbe in October 2004.

Rakhmonov said the construction of the Sanktuda-1 hydroelectric power plant had started and the Rogun plant was being designed. He added that a total of $25 million would be invested in this project in 2005.

The Tajik leader said the Russian and Tajik defense ministries had reached complete understanding. Rakhmonov said Dushanbe would host a session of the defense ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on June 24, where he intended to meet with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov.

"Our law enforcement bodies are cooperating proactively in the fight against extremism and illicit drug trafficking," the Tajik president added.