There is no connection between the timing of the withdrawal of the CSTO forces from Kazakhstan and the call of the Chinese Foreign Minister to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova in Telegram-channel.
“The decision on the input and output of the CSTO forces is made by the CSTO members. China is not a member of this organization,” Zakharova said. She also added that the termination of the information support of the operation is connected with its actual completion and excluded the role of any other states in the process.
This is how Zakharova responded to Ekho Moskvy journalist Yulia Latynina, who linked the rapid withdrawal of the CSTO forces from Kazakhstan with Chinese influence. The diplomat found such reflections incorrect. “The question of the level of experts in our liberal media, including on Ekho Moskvy, has risen to its full height,” Zakharova was indignant.
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The CSTO peacekeeping forces entered Kazakhstan on January 6, 2022, at the request of the President of the Republic, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, against the backdrop of riots in Alma-Ata and other major cities of the country. The contingent included the military of Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. At Tokayev’s request, they secured key infrastructure and government buildings while Kazakh security officials cleaned up the country. On January 15, the CSTO forces left Kazakhstan.
Earlier, Zakharova reacted sharply to a false Bloomberg report about the alleged start of a “Russian invasion” of Ukraine. The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the authors of the publication perverts.
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