Mass protests in Kazakhstan advantageous for US, says Ukrainian expert

KIEV, January 5. /TASS/. Mass protests in Kazakhstan that erupted amidst escalation between Russia and the West are not accidental, Director of the Kiev Center for Political Research and Conflict Study Mikhail Pogrebinsky said on Wednesday.

"Hardly anyone will dispute the fact that this erupted so timely, amidst the escalation between Russia and the West," the Ukrainian expert wrote on his Facebook.

The ongoing developments in Kazakhstan "are advantageous for Americans at least for three reasons," Pogrebinsky pointed out.

First of all, this makes it possible "to distract Moscow’s attention from Donbass towards a partner of the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization]," the expert said.

Also, the protests in Kazakhstan may "presumably exacerbate the relations between Moscow and Beijing: they hardly have equal interests in Nur-Sultan," he said.

The Ukrainian expert also did not rule out that the riots in Kazakhstan were aimed at provoking Russia.

"Thirdly, the aim is, if it succeeds, to provoke Moscow to participate in suppressing protests with quite predictable consequences for Moscow for years to come," he wrote.

As the expert stressed, "it is impossible to believe that the Kazakh protests erupted spontaneously." "Otherwise, why have they been supporting thousands of non-governmental organizations," he said.

A state of emergency has been declared all across Kazakhstan over mass protests that erupted in the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the Mangistau region in the country’s southwest on January 2 where residents protested against fuel price hikes. Two days later, riots erupted in Almaty (in the country’s southeast) where police used stun grenades to disperse crowds and also in other cities, in particular, in Atyrau and Aktobe (in the west), Uralsk (in the northwest), Taraz, Shymkent and Kyzylorda (in the south), Karaganda (in the northeast) and even in the capital of Nur-Sultan.

On January 5, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed the government. Its members continue discharging their duties until a new Cabinet is approved.