Servicemen from the CSTO peacekeeping forces in Kazakhstan. Archive photoMINSK, Jan 15Belarusian peacekeepers as part of the CSTO mission perfectly completed their tasks in Kazakhstan, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said on Saturday. «And you did an excellent job with this task. As part of the peacekeeping operation, you demonstrated high professionalism, courage, and adamant determination to unconditionally fulfill the tasks,» Khrenin said, addressing the personnel of the peacekeeping contingent that arrived from Kazakhstan. His words are quoted on Saturday by Sputnik Belarus.Lukashenka spoke about the terrorist groups that attacked Kazakhstan. He stressed that «today we can confidently say that you have successfully completed the tasks assigned to you with high quality.» “The whole country closely followed the tragic events in Kazakhstan, worried about you and was proud of you. Of course, your relatives and friends were the most worried. Like all Belarusians, I fully share the joy of meeting our peacekeepers,” Khrenin said. He stressed that Belarusians know the value of peace. «We came to Kazakhstan to help the fraternal people restore constitutional order and help normalize life in the country,» the minister stressed. Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the first days of 2022 — residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed the doubling of 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 throughout the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, during the protests in Kazakhstan, about 1,000 people were injured. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, 17 Kazakh security officials were killed, more than 1.3 thousand were injured. On the morning of January 5, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed the government and headed 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 for help from the CSTO «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 the terrorists, including those who had 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. On Thursday, January 13, the successful completion of the CSTO mission was announced, now the peacekeepers are returning from Kazakhstan.
CSTO peacekeepers from Belarus left Kazakhstan
