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Kazakhstan confirms partaking in meeting of Organization of Turkic States top diplomats

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan are members of the organization, while Hungary and Turkmenistan have the status of observers

NUR-SULTAN, January 10./TASS/. Acting Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi will take part in an emergency meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of Turkic States on Kazakhstan, due on January 11, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aibek Smadiyarov told TASS on Monday.

"Acting Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi will take part in the session from the Kazakh side," Smadiyarov said. Earlier reports said that the meeting had been initiated by Turkey that chairs the Organization of Turkic States, and will be held via a video link. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan are members of the organization, while Hungary and Turkmenistan have the status of observers.

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. As a result, peacekeepers have already been deployed to Kazakhstan. Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions by the morning of January 7. The situation remains tense in Almaty. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared January 10 the day of national mourning.