CSTO peacekeeping forces complete withdrawal from Kazakhstan

The peacekeeping forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization completed their mission in Kazakhstan. The CSTO military contingent was completely withdrawn from the country. The last aircraft with personnel and equipment took off from Almaty city. There are no militaries from other countries left in Kazakhstan, said Olzhas Khussainov, Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Kazakh Ministry of Defense at a briefing in the Central Communication Service. He recalled that during the January unrest in Kazakhstan, the peacekeeping contingent of the organization served with dignity, guarding the Almaty airport, military depots and other vital strategic facilities, ensuring their complete security.

“These measures helped to free up a significant part of the forces and means for the direct counter-terrorist operations and contributed to the overall decrease in terrorist activity. The deployment of the CSTO peacekeeping potential in Kazakhstan was timely and effective. Mechanisms for interdepartmental and interstate interaction and coordination within the organization itself have been worked out in practice,” Olzhas Khussainov said.

Translation and editing by Saniya Sakenova