MOSCOW, January 11. /TASS/. The CSTO proved by its actions in Kazakhstan that it can solve complex goals efficiently, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said in his Telegram channel Tuesday.
"It is perfectly clear: what happened can be considered a new stage of development for CSTO, which unites six countries. The Organization has proven that it can solve complex tasks efficiently," Volodin said.
According to the Speaker, the CSTO member states’ decision to send peacekeeping forces to protect the key Kazakh infrastructure objects "made it possible to release local law enforcement," who then was able to work on ensuring the security of the civilians.
"When you hear speculations whether CSTO forces should or should not have been dispatched, I would like to underscore - this decision, of course, had to be made. By preventing a terrorist threat, it was possible to avoid serious problems not only in friendly Kazakhstan but in other countries as well," Volodin underscored.
He also noted that the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly now has further work on harmonizing the member states’ legislation ahead of it. Meanwhile, Volodin underscored, "It is necessary to make conclusions from the Kazakhstan tragedy, so that color revolution technologies, acts of external aggression could not weaken the CSTO states and lead to shocking in the society, the economy and to deaths of people."
The State Duma speaker expressed his condolences for the families of the victims of the Kazakhstan events and wished speedy recovery for the injured.
"Innocent people died, as well as representatives of law enforcement. A peaceful protest, sparked by the gas price spike was exploited by terrorists, bandits, and looters," Volodin noted.
He also wished Kazakhstan to return to normal life as soon as possible.
"Obviously, it won’t be easy. Every day, new reports come in regarding the damage, caused to the economy of Kazakhstan by the recent events. At this point, it is estimated at $2-3 billion. About 1,300 factories and companies and over 100 shopping malls and banks sustained damage," Volodin underscored.