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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has questions about Kazakhstan’s request for assistance from the Russian-led security organization.
Kazakhstan has asked troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to quell the protests, which have left dozens dead in the Central Asian country.
The top US diplomat said the Kazakh authorities “have the capacity to deal with the protests” in a way that would respect the rights of protesters and at the same time put law and order.
“It is therefore not clear why they feel the need to seek outside help, and we are trying to understand more about this,” Blinken told a State Department news conference on January 7.
Earlier in the week, Kazakhstan sought help from six members of the CSTO, which includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia, following protests erupted over rising energy prices.
Russia has sent several thousand troops to Kazakhstan under the auspices of the CSTO.
“I think a lesson from recent history is that when the Russians are in your house, sometimes it’s very difficult to force them to leave,” Blinken said.
Blinken’s comments came after Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Tokhaev announced that he had authorized security personnel to shoot protesters without warning, even though security forces appear to be in control of most cities in Kazakhstan.
Dozens of people have been killed in unprecedented anti-government protests that erupted in anger over rising energy prices. This is the deadliest violence in Kazakhstan in the three decades since the country declared independence from the Soviet Union.
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