Chairing The Meeting Of CSTO Countries, President Putin Says He Will Not Allow His Member Governments To Be Coup D'etat

The Russian president presided over a virtual meeting of CSTO state leaders. (Source: Kremlin.ru)

JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin on Monday blamed unrest and violence in Kazakhstan on destructive internal and external forces, insisting the Russia-led CSTO military alliance will not allow its member governments to be toppled in a coup in the former Soviet Union.

In a meeting held online by leaders of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the deployment of alliance troops has prevented armed groups from damaging the power base in Kazakhstan.

"Of course, we understand that the events in Kazakhstan are not the first and far from the last attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of our country from outside", President Putin said, citing Reuters on January 10.

Thousands of people were detained and several public buildings burned during mass anti-government protests of Kazakhstan last week.

"The steps taken by the CSTO have clearly shown that we will not allow the situation to be destabilized at home and will not allow the so-called 'color revolution' to take place", he stressed, referring to several popular uprisings in the former Soviet Union in the last decade.

Virtual meeting of CSTO country leaders. (Source: Kremlin.ru)

President Putin said the CSTO contingent would withdraw after its mission was completed and when Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev deems they are no longer needed.

It is known that President Putin delivered his speech after President Tokayev's speech, whose courage he praised. The Kazakh leader said the order had been restored but a "terrorist" hunt was underway.

Demonstrations began against rising fuel prices before erupting into wider protests against Tokayev's government and the man he succeeded as president, 81-year-old Nursultan Nazarbayev.

"The threat to the state of Kazakhstan arose not because of spontaneous protests and rallies regarding fuel prices. It was because destructive internal and external forces took advantage of this situation", said President Putin.

Meanwhile citing TASS, President Putin believes the CSTO has proven its potential and ability to act quickly and efficiently in the case of Kazakhstan.

"Our organization has proven its potential, its ability to act quickly, decisively and efficiently", he explained.

According to President Putin, each ally contributes to the completion of the mission in the CSTO troop group.

"This includes troops from every member state without exception, which are already actively carrying out operational activities. This shows that the hard and long-term work in establishing a comprehensive CSTO member state security system, including collective peacekeeping forces, has paid off", he concluded.