Western countries are trying to provoke conflicts in the CIS.

This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with representatives of the security and intelligence services of the CIS countries.

“Following their goals, our geopolitical adversaries, our opponents, as we just recently said, are ready to expose everyone, anyone, any country, to turn it into the epicenter of the crisis, provoke a “color revolution” and unleash a bloody massacre.

We have seen all this more than once,” the Russian leader noted.

Putin stressed that Western countries are trying to rekindle old conflicts and create new problems in the region in order to prevent the formation of a more just world order.

“Unipolar hegemony is inexorably crumbling.

This is an objective reality that the West categorically refuses to put up with.

And we see everything that follows from this,” the head of state explained.

The President added that internal stability and external security are key conditions for the progressive development of the states of the region, and called on the CIS member countries to strengthen mutual support.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin

  • kremlin.ru

In addition, as Putin said, the situation on the borders of the CIS countries requires increased attention.

“It is there that many common security threats are formed, which, if they are not stopped in a timely manner, can negatively affect the situation in our countries,” the Russian leader stressed.

Destabilizing protests

Recall that recently in several CIS countries, with the support of external forces, attempts were made to influence the change in the domestic political situation by force.

For example, in Belarus, after the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Alexander Lukashenko, the pro-Western opposition organized mass protests, which in some cases turned into riots and clashes with the police.

At the same time, the US and EU countries actively supported the opposition.

Some countries (mainly the Baltic republics) even recognized one of the opposition leaders, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, as the "elected" president of Belarus.

After that, Tikhanovskaya met several times with EU officials and even received an invitation to the White House to meet with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and President Joe Biden.

The legitimate authorities of the Belarusian Republic have repeatedly noted that Western countries openly interfere in the democratic processes in the country and destabilize the situation in Belarus, supporting protest activity.

President Alexander Lukashenko noted earlier that the West does not leave attempts to influence the situation in the country two years after the elections.

“The West is actively trying with the hands of our fugitives, if not to destabilize, then at least to shake up the situation in the country.

There, however, for a long time no one has been comforting himself with the illusions of a repeat of August 2020.

This is important, it strengthens the confidence that together we will be able to overcome the most difficult situations, resist any challenges and threats and build our common future,” the Belarusian leader said at a meeting with Vladimir Putin in February.

At the beginning of 2022, the next focus of instability was Kazakhstan, where, after an increase in the price of automobile fuel, mass protests also began, which quickly turned into pogroms and riots.

In the former capital of the republic, Alma-Ata, the largest shopping centers were looted, protesters seized some government institutions and infrastructure.

Later, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, said that "terrorist gangs" had seized the airport in Alma-Ata and five aircraft, including foreign ships.

Against the backdrop of growing unrest, the President of Kazakhstan was forced to seek help from the CSTO countries, which agreed to send peacekeeping forces to the republic, thanks to which the situation in the country was stabilized.

  • CSTO peacekeeping operation in the Republic of Kazakhstan

  • © Collective Security Treaty Organization

The President of Kazakhstan did not lay responsibility for what happened in the republic on specific states, but stressed that the protests were carried out by foreign fighters.

“I have no doubt that this was a terrorist attack.

A well-organized and prepared act of aggression against Kazakhstan with the participation of foreign fighters mainly from Central Asian countries, including Afghanistan.

There were also militants from the Middle East.

The idea was to form a zone of controlled chaos on our territory with the subsequent seizure of power,” Tokayev said at a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel.

Border conflicts

In September 2022, pockets of instability appeared on the borders of other CIS member countries.

On September 12, the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border escalated.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said that the Azerbaijani military opened fire on Armenian positions using artillery, mortars and drones.

In turn, Baku claimed that allegedly the Armenian military had organized a provocation.

The fighting on the border lasted for several days and led to the death of dozens of soldiers on both sides.

Yerevan turned to the CSTO for help, after which a mission of the organization went to the country.

  • Collective forces of the CSTO are sent to Kazakhstan to participate in joint exercises

  • © Collective Security Treaty Organization

Yerevan and Baku managed to achieve a ceasefire, but later the parties accused each other of violating it.

At the same time, on September 14, armed clashes began between the border guards of the two countries on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border.

Soon, local skirmishes took on the character of a combined-arms battle with the use of equipment and multiple launch rocket systems.

On September 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed by telephone with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Tajik leader Emomali Rahmon the situation on the border between the two countries.

“Vladimir Putin called on the parties to prevent further escalation and take measures to resolve the situation as soon as possible by exclusively peaceful, political and diplomatic means, and reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to provide the necessary assistance in order to ensure stability in the Kyrgyz-Tajik border area,” the Kremlin said.

The next day, the heads of the intelligence services of the two countries signed a protocol on the establishment of peace.

The interest of Western countries in destabilizing the CIS is obvious today and is demonstrated by them quite openly, said Alexei Mukhin, general director of the Center for Political Information, in a conversation with RT.

“The fact that Western countries are destabilizing the situation in the CIS is an established fact.

This is a very old story, in which Britain and the United States are most actively involved.

They openly allocate money for this for specific results: they form so-called non-governmental organizations that are directly engaged in undermining stability in the post-Soviet space, ”the political scientist emphasized.

In the current geopolitical situation, Western states have discarded all conventions and proceeded to direct actions to provoke conflict situations in different parts of the CIS and on the borders of member countries of the Commonwealth, Mukhin added.

A similar opinion is shared by military expert Ivan Konovalov.

According to him, the United States and its allies are trying different directions to create hotbeds of tension around Russia, including the territories and borders of other countries that are part of the commonwealth with the Russian Federation.

“We are facing a huge number of challenges.

This applies not only to the Russian Federation - we are talking about the entire post-Soviet space.

It should be noted that the United States and its allies, having launched a full-scale hybrid war against Russia, are acting from various directions.

Pay attention to the situation between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia: such situations, as a rule, are the result of external interference,” the expert noted.

The security situation throughout the CIS is practically on the brink, all members of the Commonwealth need to closely monitor its development, Konovalov added.

“The fact that Russia takes this situation very seriously is understandable, if only by the fact that it has launched a special military operation.

This happened for a reason: a springboard was created for the destruction of the Russian Federation and those countries that support it.

And in general, this applies to the entire anti-globalization community.

The countries of the West, obviously, have already decided for themselves that they are playing for broke, and have raised the stakes to the last, ”concluded the interlocutor of RT.