BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 11
Trend:
The CSTO peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan has been successfully completed, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during the parliamentary session, Trend reports.
The president added that the gradual withdrawal of troops will begin on January 13 and will take about 10 days.
President Tokayev appealed to the CSTO in connection with the riots in Kazakhstan on January 5.
"These terrorist gangs are international, they have been thoroughly trained abroad and their attack on Kazakhstan can and should be considered as an act of aggression," President Tokayev said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council on January 5.
“In this regard, relying on the Collective Security Treaty, I appealed to the heads of the CSTO member-states to assist Kazakhstan in overcoming this terrorist threat,” the president added. “In fact, this is the process of undermining the territorial integrity, rather than a threat.”
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1.
After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance.
Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the government initiated anti-terrorist operations to deal with the ongoing riots.
Also, the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) arrived in Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order and help protect strategic objects of the country.