WASHINGTON, January 8. /TASS/. Russia views the events in Kazakhstan as riots, provoked from the outside and aimed at undermining the security and integrity of the republic, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said in an interview for Newsweek Friday.

"Russia views the externally provoked violent developments in the friendly country as aimed to disrupt its security and integrity. We will assist efforts to restore normal life in Kazakhstan", Antonov said.

He also noted that the spread of radical religious ideologies in Central Asia is caused by the Western military intervention in the Middle East.

"There is serious concern over further spread of radical religious ideology in Central Asia. It comes from the destabilization in the Middle East and Afghanistan caused, in turn, by the Western military interferences under the pretext of defending human rights and democracy," the Russian envoy said.

On January 2, protests sparked in several cities of Kazakhstan. In several days, they escalated into mass riots and assaults at the bodies of authority in many cities. Thousands of people were injured, and there were casualties. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asked the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for assistance. CSTO peacekeepers have already commenced their mission in Kazakhstan. According to the authorities, the constitutional order in Kazakhstan was generally restored on January 7. The situation in Almaty remains the most complicated.