NUR-SULTAN, January 12. /TASS/. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the Collective Security Treaty Organization proved itself as an important military and political group by helping to take on the unrest in the country, his press office said in a statement.
"The situation has once again confirmed the importance of the organization as a military and political group," he said at a meeting with CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas, according to the statement. "I think they have now started talking about the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the international community."
He said the bloc displayed its efficiency in Kazakhstan and it was important for the group to engage with other international organizations.
It would be advisable, Tokayev said, to create the position of a special CSTO envoy for peacekeeping operations. He also thanked the CSTO allies for timely assistance to Kazakhstan in repelling a terrorist attack.
Zas informed Tokayev that the CSTO started to withdraw the troops of its member states from the country in compliance with the timeline given by the Kazakh president, the statement said. The CSTO agreed it was important to appoint the group’s peacekeeping envoy, according to the statement.
Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with ransacked buildings and attacks on police, military servicemen and government offices in many cities, mostly in Almaty. Thousands of people were injured, while the exact number of fatalities hasn’t been reported. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev requested assistance from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization and the bloc deployed peacekeepers to Kazakhstan. The country declared a state of emergency from January 5. Law and order were generally restored to all of the country’s regions, Kazakh authorities said.