US Department of State Building in Washington DC WASHINGTON, Dec 6 US hopes Kazakhstan can resolve economic problems, said State Department spokesman Ned Price. «We hope that the Kazakh authorities will be able to respond to the problems that manifested themselves in these protests, to problems of a fundamentally economic and political nature,» Price said at a briefing. Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the early days 2022 year. Then the residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed a two-fold increase in prices for liquefied gas, then the protests spread to other cities. In Alma-Ata, on January 4 and 5, clashes with security officials took place, the police used gas and stun grenades. Throughout Kazakhstan, the Internet was turned off, and the broadcasting of a number of TV channels was temporarily stopped. Until January 19, a state of emergency was introduced throughout Kazakhstan. On the morning of January 5, President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev dismissed the government and headed the Security Council CSTO «in overcoming the terrorist threat.» The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to send collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan in connection with Tokayev's appeal. The forces will be sent for a limited period in order to stabilize and normalize the situation in the country. 18 security officials were killed
