Russia believes that the civil unrest in Kazakhstan was provoked by the external forces who want to undermine the security and integrity of the Central Asian nation, Russian Ambassador to US Anatoly Antonov said.
“Russia views the externally provoked violent developments in the friendly country as aimed to disrupt its security and integrity. We will assist efforts to restore normal life in Kazakhstan,” the Russian diplomat told the Newsweek news outlet.
“As for Washington’s role, we hope that no one will question the right of Kazakhstan to apply to Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s [CSTO] charter. It was exercised to ensure law and order in the allied republic,” he added, commenting on the Western countries’ concern over the CSTO decision to send peacekeepers to Kazakhstan.
The diplomat also added that “NATO’s expansion eastwards is against the common and collectively agreed principle of indivisible security in #Europe. The transatlantic bloc itself is a rudiment of the Cold War.”
On late Friday, Blinken expressed concern over the CSTO decision to send peacekeepers to Kazakhstan, adding that “one lesson in recent history is that once Russians are in your house, it’s sometimes very difficult to get them to leave.”
Commenting on his remarks, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the US secretary of state “made a joke about the tragic developments in Kazakhstan in a boorish manner typical for him.”
The ministry described the CSTO decision to send peacekeepers to Kazakhstan as absolutely legitimate.
“If Antony Blinken likes history lessons, let him know the following one: once Americans are in your house, it’s sometimes difficult to remain alive, not robbed and not raped,” the foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Mass protests in Kazakhstan began earlier in the week as residents of Zhanaozen and Aktau opposed a two-fold increase in prices for liquefied petroleum gas. The protests then spread to other cities, resulting in violent clashes with the police, looting and vandalism.
Kazakhstan’s police have detained 3,811 people over several days of rioting across the country; at least 13 law enforcement officers have been killed and 353 injured in the mayhem, two of those killed were beheaded, state media said.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency until January 19 over the civil unrest in the country and invited the CSTO peacekeeping forces to help bring the situation under control. The CSTO troops are already arriving in the Central Asian nation.
