State Duma Speaker Viacheslav Volodin said that thanks to the presence of the CSTO peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan, it was possible to prevent the terrorist threat.
Protest actions in Kazakhstan began on January 2 in the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the southwest of the country. The protesters demanded lower prices for liquefied gas, which many residents of the country use as fuel for cars.
Despite the fact that the authorities agreed to comply with the demands of the protesters and reduce the cost of gas, violent rallies began in other cities of the republic. The President of the Republic of Kassym-Jomart appealed to the CSTO for help, after which a peacekeeping contingent of the organization’s member countries was sent to Kazakhstan.
Volodin noted that the decision of the leaders of the CSTO countries to send their troops to protect key infrastructure in Kazakhstan made it possible to free local law enforcement officers, who, thanks to the presence of peacekeepers, were able to deal directly with ensuring the safety of civilians.
“Having averted the terrorist threat, we managed to avoid serious problems not only in our friendly Kazakhstan, but also in other countries. We hear statements from Washington in which it demands an explanation from the leadership of Kazakhstan why it turned to the CSTO for help. The US leadership would like the CSTO peacekeeping mission not to exist at all, so that the unstable situation on the territory of Kazakhstan persists”, the State Duma speaker emphasized in his Telegram channel.
According to Volodin, the position of China and other partners of Russia in the CSTO and SCO contributes significantly to stability in the region. However, for the CSTO, which unites six countries, what happened can be considered a new stage of development, since the organization has shown that it can effectively solve difficult tasks, the politician summed up.