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Protests in Kazakhstan

Putin has no plans yet to meet with Russian peacekeepers back from Kazakhstan — Kremlin

It was also mentioned that the Kremlin would consider the proposals to award the Russian peacekeepers who worked in Kazakhstan if the Russian Defense Ministry and the General Staff submit them

MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not yet planning to meet with Russian peacekeepers who returned from Kazakhstan, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Read also

Russian peacekeepers return from Kazakhstan aboard 19 planes

"So far, there are no meetings on the president’s schedule and many [peacekeepers] have already returned and are now resting, while some have returned and begun other exercises and so on. Currently, no special events have been planned," the Kremlin official said.

He added that the Kremlin would consider the proposals to award the Russian peacekeepers who worked in Kazakhstan if the Russian Defense Ministry and the General Staff submit them. "If the leadership of the Defense Ministry and the General Staff recommends [the peacekeepers for decorations], these recommendations will be considered," Putin’s press secretary said replying to a question on the matter.

That said, he did not concur with a reporter citing some analysts who think that problems in Kazakhstan are allegedly "far from over." "We do not agree with this," the Kremlin spokesman said.

Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with government buildings 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.

The CSTO contingent included the armed forces of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The main mission of the Russian units was to protect Almaty’s main strategic facilities. On January 13, a gradual withdrawal of the peacekeeping contingent from Kazakhstan began.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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