MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. It is necessary to continue to develop military capability of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) forces, which have demonstrated their effectiveness during the developments in Kazakhstan, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
"We see how useful [they] were and how necessary it is to continue the process of improving coordination within all CSTO military structures. It is necessary to continue the process of the joint military development, military drills and exercises," he said.
"At zero hour, it demonstrated its usefulness, expediency and topicality amid the challenges and threats member states have to face," he stressed.
Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with government buildings getting ransacked in several cities a few days later. The ensuing violence left scores of people injured, with fatalities also being reported. Subsequently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) requesting assistance from the Russia-led bloc. As a result, peacekeepers have already been deployed to Kazakhstan. Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions by the morning of January 7.