Washington Criticizes, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Says US Officials Do Not Understand The Situation In Kazakhstan

JAKARTA - Some representatives of the United States (US) do not understand what is happening in Kazakhstan and take it as Washington's official position, criticized Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova.

The diplomat commented on a statement by White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, that the United States had questions about the legality of the Kazakh authorities' request to use the powers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the country.

"Everyone is used to the fact that some representatives of Washington do not understand everything, taking it as the position of the United States of America", Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel, citing TASS on January 8.

As previously reported, the United States is closely monitoring reports of peacekeepers from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) deploying to Kazakhstan. And have questions about whether they were lawfully invited to the country.

"We are closely monitoring reports that the Collective Security Treaty Organization has sent its collective peacekeeping force to Kazakhstan", White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said at a news conference last Thursday.

"We have questions about the nature of this request and whether it was a valid invitation or not. We don't know at this time", Psaki said.

Psaki said Washington would watch for any human rights violations and any action that might predicate the seizure of Kazakh institutions.

Meanwhile, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in a speech to his people he had applied to the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), to fight what he called "terrorist groups" who had "received extensive training abroad".

It is known, the CSTO itself is an alliance consisting of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. CSTO responded to the request of Kazakhstan.

Separately, Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, who currently serves as Chair of the CSTO said on Facebook, the alliance will send a collective peacekeeping force for a limited period of time, to stabilize and normalize the situation in the country caused by outside interference", citing The National News.

For information, the CSTO Secretary-General told the RIA news agency the peacekeeping force in total will number around 2,500 and could be strengthened if necessary.