A Russia-led military alliance announced late Wednesday that it will send peacekeeping troops to Kazakhstan, where massive riots stemming from nationwide protests over high fuel prices have led to a state of emergency and the resignation of the government.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the current chair of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), said the organization considered the threats to the national security and sovereignty of Kazakhstan before reaching the decision.
The CSTO Security Council, the highest body of the organization, decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to the country for a limited time in order to stabilize conditions in Kazakhstan, he said.
Earlier in the day, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev requested help from the CSTO, a military alliance that brings together six former Soviet republics including Russia, to put an end to the riots in the country, which he described as “a terrorist threat.”
