MOSCOW, January 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his counterparts in CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) over the past two days to discuss the situation in Kazakhstan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

"Yesterday and today, President Putin held a number of phone conversations with the leaders of the CSTO member countries. He had conversations with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan," the Kremlin spokesman said.

He added that Putin also "repeatedly spoke on the phone with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev."

"They discussed the situation in Kazakhstan and joint actions under the CSTO mandate to combat international terrorism and to ensure order and security of citizens of Kazakhstan." Peskov said.

The Kremlin official also noted that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu is reporting about the deployment and the activities of CSTO peacekeepers in Kazakhstan to the President.

"Since the beginning of the operation of the CSTO peacekeeping forces, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has been reporting to Putin about their deployment and activities in Kazakhstan," he said.

Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, later growing into mass riots and attacks on government offices. Thousands of casualties have been reported, including fatalities. The Kazakh President asked the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military alliance of former Soviet republics, for help. First peacekeeping units have already started fulfilling their tasks in Kazakhstan. The government said order has generally been restored in all of the country’s regions by the morning of January 7, while the situation is the most difficult in Almaty.