The Russian-backed Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) has agreed to send in military forces to Kazakhstan to combat what has been called a “terrorist threat” after thousands of Kazakhs across the country continued to protest despite the resignation of the current sitting government.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called on the Russian-aligned bloc of former soviet countries for international support after demonstrators continued to protest the continuing dominance of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev over the country.
Tokayev said in his request for aid that military assistance was necessary to help Kazakhstan overcome a “terrorist threat.” In a televised address, the president has vowed that he will remain in the Kazakh capital, Nur Sultan.
“As head of state … I intend to act as robustly as possible,” Tokayev said. “Whatever happens, I will remain in the capital. It is my constitutional duty to be with the people.”
The chairman of the CSTO Security council, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, has agreed to the request.
Pashinyan said in a post on Facebook that “in view of the threat to national security and the sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan” from outside interference, the CSTO would be sending Collective peacekeeping forces to the Republic of Kazakhstan to “normalize the situation in this country.”
This is the first time the organization will deploy peacekeepers to intervene in the region’s political environment.
“A special counter-terror operation has been launched in the city to establish order,” the statement said. “Their attack on Kazakhstan is an act of aggression and an attempt to disrupt the state’s integrity.”
