NUR-SULTAN, Jan 10 Doubts about the legitimacy of the CSTO mission in Kazakhstan arise due to lack of understanding of the situation, said the President of the Republic Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. «We already see that there are questions about the legitimacy of the introduction of CSTO forces. This is due to the lack of reliable information and misunderstanding of the whole situation,» Tokayev said at an extraordinary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council. 
The Secretary of State of Kazakhstan said that the forces of the CSTO will be involved locally Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the early days of 2022 — residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed a twofold increase in prices for liquefied gas. Later, the protests spread to other cities, including Alma-Ata, the old capital and the largest city of the republic: looting began there, militants attacked state institutions, took away weapons. In response, the authorities declared a state of emergency across the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, about 1,000 people were injured during the protests in Kazakhstan. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, 17 security officials were killed. On the morning of January 5, Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev dismissed the government and became the head of the Security Council. At the first meeting of the Security Council under his leadership, Tokayev described the situation in Kazakhstan as undermining the integrity of the state and said that he had asked the CSTO for help «in overcoming the terrorist threat.» The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to send collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan to normalize the situation in the country. On January 7, Tokayev said that terrorists, including those who arrived from abroad, continued to resist, and promised to destroy those who did not lay down their arms. In addition, the President noted that all the demands of citizens, expressed in peaceful forms, were heard. 
the integrity of the country
