MOSCOW, January 13./TASS/. The peacekeepers from the Collective Security Treaty Organization have accomplished their mission in Kazakhstan, and it’s time for them to return home, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

"Overall, it’s time to return home. We have accomplished our task," Putin said as he met with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.

The president thanked the defense minister, the General Staff, and all those who had led the operation. "I want to express hope that this practice of using our armed forces will be studied additionally, adjustments if any will be made to the practical work," the president added.

In compliance with a decision by the CSTO Collective Security Council made on January 6, 2022, the organization’s collective peacekeeping forces were sent to Kazakhstan for a limited period to stabilize and normalize the situation in the Central Asian republic. The peacekeeping contingent comprised units of the armed forces of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The Russian peacekeepers in Kazakhstan were assigned the task of protecting key strategic facilities in Almaty. On January 13, the CSTO began the gradual withdrawal of its collective peacekeeping forces from Kazakhstan that will last several days.