"Efficiency is obvious to the whole world": how Russia reacted to the statements of the West on the CSTO mission in Kazakhstan

The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova said on the air of the Russia 1 TV channel that the effectiveness of the CSTO peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan is obvious to the whole world.

“The effectiveness of this action, these steps (the deployment of the CSTO forces. -

) is obvious to the whole world.

It can be denied only by those who do not follow the situation at all, ”she said.

Earlier, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry made the same statement on the YouTube channel "Solovyov LIVE".

She noted that the forces of the CSTO peacekeeping contingent worked clearly and harmoniously, providing Kazakhstan with modern assistance within the framework of the existing legal mechanisms.

The diplomat recalled that the principles of mutual military assistance are spelled out in the fundamental documents of the organization.

Despite this, from the point of view of Zakharova, the CSTO operation caused an inadequate and aggressive reaction in the West.

“She (CSTO -

) did her job the way a doctor of the highest category does her job, instantly bringing the whole situation (in Kazakhstan. -

) to the indicators that were declared.

Well, this, of course, causes irritation ... Because all the operations of the Western world that were carried out led to the opposite: they led to failure, "Zakharova said.

In the opinion of an official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the West is not going to "rejoice" in the coordinated actions of states that are not part of its bloc.

In addition, according to the diplomat, abroad will continue to talk about the alleged illegitimacy of the actions of the CSTO and the "aggressive" plans of Russia.

"American intervention"

In addition to the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the Russian State Duma, reacted to the attacks of the West.

In his Telegram channel, he stressed that the introduction of the CSTO forces helped stabilize the situation in the country.

According to him, the presence of peacekeepers "allowed the release of local law enforcement officers" to address issues of ensuring the security of civilians.

“And when there are arguments“ was it worth it or not to send the forces of the CSTO, ”I want to emphasize: this decision, of course, had to be made.

Having averted the terrorist threat, we managed to avoid serious problems not only in our friendly Kazakhstan, but also in other countries, ”Volodin emphasized.

According to the speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament, "the US leadership would like the CSTO peacekeeping mission not to exist at all, so that the unstable situation on the territory of Kazakhstan persists."

• CSTO peacekeepers in Kazakhstan

• RIA News

• © Ministry of Defense of Russia

“Humanitarian problems, human suffering, destruction of the state are secondary for Washington.

The whole world saw this in the examples of NATO troops entering Libya, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan without any appeals from their side.

The peoples of these countries are still suffering from the consequences of American intervention, ”Volodin said.

Recall that the United States reacted sharply negatively to the introduction of the CSTO peacekeeping contingent in Kazakhstan and demanded that the republic's authorities explain why they turned to the organization.

On January 7, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tried to accuse Moscow of allegedly being reluctant to withdraw troops from Kazakhstan.

“One lesson from past history: When Russians are in your house, it can be difficult to get them to leave,” Blinken said.

In response to this, the Russian Foreign Ministry reminded about the war crimes of the American troops.

“If Anthony Blinken is so fond of history lessons, then let him mean the following: when Americans are in your house, it can be difficult to stay alive, not to be robbed or raped,” the Russian Foreign Ministry's Telegram channel emphasized.

White House spokesman Jen Psaki also questioned the legitimacy and legitimacy of the CSTO mission, and State Department Speaker Ned Price said during a press briefing on January 10 that the leadership of Kazakhstan allegedly did not need to use the military support of the CSTO.

• State Department Representative Ned Price

• AP

• © Kevin Lamarque

“We have some questions, because, as far as we know, the government of Kazakhstan is quite capable of ensuring law and order, as well as protecting its institutions, while respecting the rights of people and responding to issues that concern them,” Price told reporters.

A State Department spokesman said the United States would like to "better understand the necessity and nature" of Kazakhstan's request for peacekeepers.

At the same time, he called on the CSTO forces "to comply with international norms in the field of human rights, to support a peaceful settlement and, again, to immediately leave Kazakhstan when the country's government asks about it."

On January 11, the Russian Embassy in Washington said on its Twitter page that, given the sad experience of the operations of the American army, Washington could not give advice on how to restore order and protect the rights of people.

Unlike the 🇺🇸 troops, occupying territories of 🇸🇾 and Kosovo in 🇷🇸, the peacekeeping forces of the @CSTO_ODKB carry out the mission to ensure security of the critical infrastructure in 🇰🇿 upon the request of its authorities.

pic.twitter.com/LfA0Cjvl5g

- Russian Embassy in USA 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbUSA) January 11, 2022

On January 6, at a briefing in Brussels, the representative of the EU's foreign policy service Nabila Masrali called on the organization's military personnel to respect the sovereignty and independence of the country of presence.

On January 11, the representative of the European Union's foreign policy service Peter Stano said that it is important to see the "actual withdrawal" of the CSTO servicemen after the situation stabilizes.

Meanwhile, speaking on January 11 in the majilis (parliament), the president of the republic, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, praised the mission of the CSTO "blue helmets".

According to him, without external military assistance, the Kazakh authorities risked completely losing control over Alma-Ata.

Tokayev stressed that today the acute phase of the counter-terrorist operation has been completed and the situation in all regions of the country has returned to normal.

Also, the President of Kazakhstan said that the troops of the organization have completed the main stage of the mission and will begin to leave the republic on January 13. 

The withdrawal of troops should be completed within 10 days.

At the same time, Tokayev explained that the "blue helmets" will stay in the country "until the situation is completely stabilized."

Commenting on the decision of the President of Kazakhstan, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov stressed that it is completely the prerogative of the country, which has turned to the CSTO with a request for help.

Recall that the collective peacekeeping forces of the CSTO were deployed in Kazakhstan in early January.

Airborne units were deployed from Russia by military transport aircraft.

"Blue helmets" took under protection the most important state, military, social and infrastructure facilities.

In turn, the fight against bandit formations and cleansing measures fell on the shoulders of the Kazakhstani security forces. 

As reported on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the CSTO units deployed to the republic with the help of UAVs established round-the-clock monitoring of the situation in the deployment zones.

Surveillance results are sent in real time to mobile control points.

"Working mechanism"

In an interview with RT, Vice-Rector for International Relations of the State Academic University of the Humanities, Editor-in-Chief of the Eurasia.

Expert "Vyacheslav Sutyrin said that the mission of the" blue helmets "in Kazakhstan is" certainly legal and legitimate. "

He explained the negative reaction of the US and the EU by the fact that the West viewed the CSTO as "a virtual organization existing only on paper."

“The CSTO has proved that it is a really working mechanism.

Its effectiveness was manifested in the lightning-fast transfer of troops at the request of the participating country.

The peacekeeping contingent was sent to Kazakhstan as soon as possible.

The bill went literally for hours.

As Tokayev said, the troops arrived at a critical moment, when the situation was on the verge of collapse, ”the expert emphasized.

According to Sutyrin, the CSTO has proven its relevance as a military-political union of post-Soviet countries.

In addition, according to the analyst, the organization's activities are of particular importance for Central Asia, where, from his point of view, there is a likelihood of new outbreaks of terrorism.

“Obviously, this is not the last attempt to destabilize the situation in the region.

It is very important that the powers and functions of the CSTO be strengthened in the area of ​​military, information and public security.

So that after the CSTO mission in Kazakhstan is completed, there is no vacuum that can be used by radical extremists of various stripes, ”the expert emphasized.

• Transfer of Russian military personnel to Kazakhstan

• Facebook

• © Ministry of Defense of Russia

In a commentary to RT, the head of the department for Central Asia and Kazakhstan of the Institute of CIS Countries, Andrei Grozin, expressed confidence that events in Kazakhstan would not remain without conclusions from the CSTO member countries.

In particular, as the expert expects, the members of the organization will cooperate more closely with each other and increase the size of the peacekeeping contingent.

“Due to various factors, Kazakhstan does not have an army capable of covering its gigantic territories.

And the people who organized the transfer and deployment of the mission in Kazakhstan deserve the highest praise and awards.

The CSTO peacekeeping contingent has demonstrated its high demand, and, in my opinion, in the near future it will only grow by replenishing the most trained personnel and modern weapons, ”Grozin predicted.