President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that the introduction of a peacekeeping mission of the CSTO countries to Kazakhstan did not allow a color revolution to flare up there.
“The success of your mission can be regarded as the emergence of an effective mechanism to combat the so-called color revolutions,” Lukashenko said on Saturday at a meeting with the Belarusian peacekeeping contingent that completed its mission in Kazakhstan. His words are quoted by the official website of the President of Belarus.
According to him, the measures taken by the CSTO, the deployment of peacekeeping forces made it possible to save Kazakhstan from the development of the situation according to the most negative scenario, and did not allow another color revolution to flare up.
“The transfer of the troops of the allied countries in the shortest possible time eliminated the threat of destruction of the state, ensured the stabilization of the situation and the restoration of constitutional order in the country. Our common efforts not only cooled the ardor of terrorists and extremists controlled from outside, but also showed the whole world close allied ties, viability and potential of the Collective Security Treaty Organization,” the Belarusian President stressed.
The head of state noted that the operation in Kazakhstan was the first time that the CSTO peacekeeping forces were actually involved in ensuring the security, stability and integrity of one of the member states.
“You honorably fulfilled the tasks of ensuring the security of the most important state and military facilities of Kazakhstan, made your significant contribution to stabilizing the situation in the country. Today, the servicemen of Belarus and Russia are equal to you. Families and the entire Belarusian people are proud of you,” Lukashenko addressed the servicemen.
Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the first days of 2022 – residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed the doubling of prices for liquefied gas. Later, the protests spread to other cities, including Alma-Ata, the old capital and the largest city of the republic: looting began there, militants attacked state institutions, took away weapons. In response, the authorities declared a state of emergency throughout the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, during the protests in Kazakhstan, about 1,000 people were injured. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, 17 Kazakh security officials were killed, more than 1.3 thousand were injured.