Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev yesterday said that a contingent of Russia-led forces would begin leaving the Central Asian country in two days, with the pullout to take no more than 10 days.
“The main mission of the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] peacekeeping forces has been successfully completed,” Tokayev said.
“In two days a phased withdrawal of the CSTO united peacekeeping contingent will begin,” he said, addressing the government and parliament via videoconferencing. “The withdrawal process of the contingent will take no more than 10 days.”
Photo: AP
The CSTO mission of more than 2,000 troops was deployed at the peak of the crisis last week, after armed clashes between government opponents and security forces, and a looting spree, rendered parts of the largest city, Almaty, almost unrecognizable.
Tokayev also appeared to have further bolstered his position, backing Acting Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov to take on the job permanently — a nomination that won the unanimous support of lawmakers yesterday.
Kazakhstan has framed last week’s unrest that grew out of a peaceful protest against an energy price hike in the west of the country and left dozens dead as an attempted coup assisted by foreign terrorists, but the crisis has also laid bare infighting at the top of the government.
On Monday, Tokayev said his country had defeated an attempted coup d’etat during historic violence last week, blaming militants from Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Middle East for the unrest.
Via videoconferencing, Tokayev told leaders of several former Soviet countries that “armed militants” had used the protests — which began with rallies over a fuel price hike — to try to seize power.
“It was an attempted coup d’etat,” he said.
Speaking with European Council President Charles Michel later on Monday, Tokayev said that militants from Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Middle East were behind the unrest.
Kazakhstan and Russia have repeatedly blamed the unrest on forces outside the country, without offering evidence.
In a separate call on Monday, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) discussed Kazakhstan, stressing “their concern about the intervention of external forces,” Moscow said.
The ministers said “foreign mercenaries” were involved “in attacks on civilians and law enforcement officials, the seizure of state institutions and other facilities,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Nearly 10,000 people have been detained for questioning, the Kazakh Ministry of the Interior said on Monday.
Tokayev dismissed his Cabinet last week in an effort to placate the protesters and was expected to present a new government to parliament yesterday.
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