The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym Jomart Tokayev, visited Almaty on Wednesday for the first time since last week’s deadly riots, promising to repair damage to the nation’s largest city.
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In addition, the president also said that in the next few hours the Russian military contingent that traveled to the country to control the excesses will leave the country.
“The task now is to rebuild Almaty in the shortest possible time … I have no doubt that it will be restored,” he told a government meeting, according to a statement from the Kazakh presidency.
This visit comes on the eve of the start of the announced withdrawal of the military contingent of some 2,000 men, led by Russia, sent to support power during the unrest.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) begins the organized withdrawal of the peacekeeping contingent” from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Moscow-led alliance, Tokayev confirmed.
Expressing his gratitude, the Kazakh president considered that the Russian and allied forces “played a very important role in terms of stabilizing the situation in the country.”
“Without a doubt, it had a great psychological importance to repel the aggression of terrorists and bandits. The mission can be considered very successful,” he added.
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According to local media, Tokayev also interviewed relatives of law enforcement officials killed during the riots, and visited injured people receiving treatment at the hospital.
According to the presidency, Tokayev traveled to Almaty to “personally assess the magnitude of the consequences of the terrorist attack on the largest city in the country.”
Almaty airport, which was closed last week after being looted, will resume service on Thursday for domestic and international flights, the Kazakh civil aviation committee said.
AFP
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