The Moscow-led contingent will remain in Kazakhstan for a limited time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
“A contingent of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (ODIHR) peacekeepers has been sent to Kazakhstan, and I want to emphasize this for a limited time,” Putin said of a Moscow-led organization uniting Russia and its closest allies at a meeting of post-Soviet leaders.
The ODKB contingent was sent to Kazakhstan at the request of the country’s leadership because of “international terrorist aggression” against the country, the Kremlin’s host said.
The ODKB has sent 2,030 troops and 250 armored units to Kazakhstan during the meeting, Kazakh President Kasim Zhomart Tokayev said during the meeting, referring to last week’s events as “an attempt to overthrow the country”.
By sending an ODKB contingent, it is clear that post-Soviet leaders will not allow “revolutions” in their countries, Putin explained.
“The ODKB’s actions make it clear that we will not allow anyone to destabilize the situation in our homes and implement so-called color revolution scenarios,” he added.
Protests against the sharp rise in liquefied gas prices reportedly began weeks ago in Zhanaozen, in the southwest of the country.
In the following days, however, protests took over the whole of Kazakhstan, and political demands began to emerge alongside economic ones. The protesters demanded, among other things, the complete departure of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his clan from the leadership of the state.
Peaceful protests soon escalated into clashes with security services. Along with the capture of government buildings, attacks on police stations and the looting of shops began.
Dozens of people have been killed in the violence, but the Interior Ministry has said almost 8,000 people have been detained by security forces.
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