The decision to begin the withdrawal of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) peacekeepers from Kazakhstan in two days is the prerogative of this country, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a briefing.
“This is wholly and completely the prerogative of the country that made this request to the CSTO. This is their analysis, and we have no right to interfere in it, ”he said, answering the question whether such a decision by the President of Kazakhstan, Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev, was hasty.
Earlier today Tokayev announced that the main mission of the CSTO peacekeeping forces in Kazakhstan has been successfully completed and in two days their phased withdrawal from the republic will begin. It is supposed to take no more than 10 days.
Tokayev turned to his CSTO partners on January 5 after replacing the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, as chairman of the Security Council. In addition, a state of emergency is in force in the country until January 19.
All this happened as a result of street demonstrations that began in western Kazakhstan on January 2 amid a sharp increase in the price of liquefied gas. Subsequently, they began to hold rallies in other large cities of the country. As a result, the protests escalated into armed clashes with the police and looting. The demonstrators made several attempts to storm the administrative buildings and police departments, including for some time seized the old residence of the president of the republic in Alma-Ata.
According to Tokayev, responsibility for what is happening lies with international terrorist groups and the attack is planned. The president said yesterday that the riots in Kazakhstan are a terrorist attack involving militants from Central Asian countries, including Afghanistan.
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