Blinken calls for 'peaceful' solution to Kazakhstan crisis
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In a phone call with Blinken's Kazakh counterpart, Mukhtar Teloperdi, the US calls for a "peaceful" solution to the events.
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The US wants to do some "freedom".
As Kazakhstan experiences a state of emergency, foreign actors have rushed to aid the country - solicited and unsolicited.
The US State Department announced in a statement today, Thursday, that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken discussed by phone with his Kazakh counterpart, Mukhtar Teloperdi, the ongoing state of emergency in Kazakhstan.
Blinken "reiterated the United States' full support for Kazakhstan's constitutional institutions and media freedom and advocated for a peaceful, rights-respecting resolution to the crisis," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.
Read more: Kazakhstan: Terrorists block entry to hospitals, behead police officers
The statement, furthermore, raised the priority of strengthening stability in Europe, including support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in response to the alleged "Russian aggression".
Price, after Kazakhstan announced a state of emergency on Wednesday, said in a statement that the US “is closely following the situation” and that US officials “condemn the acts of violence and destruction of property and call for restraint by both the authorities and protesters.”
In parallel, the Collective Security Treaty Organization announced today, Thursday, the deployment of the first platoon of forces to Kazakhstan to help in stabilizing the situation, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan expressed its “readiness to participate in the CSTO process in Kazakhstan.”
Al Mayadeen correspondent in Moscow, meanwhile, pointed out that sending troops to Kazakhstan shows the extent to which the organization is able to react swiftly. Troops from Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are active in the current peacekeeping mission.
This comes after the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, appealed to the countries of the CSTO to assist his government in the current crisis.
The US denies claims of being behind Kazakhstan's unrest
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed that the United States has nothing to do with the unrest, calling accusations to the contrary “crazy claims".
“We’re monitoring reports of protests in Kazakhstan. We support calls for calm, for protesters to express themselves peacefully and for authorities to exercise restraint,” Psaki told reporters during her regular briefing.
“There are some crazy claims about the US being behind this. Let me just use this opportunity to convey that as absolutely false, and clearly a part of the standard disinformation playbook.”
What is happening?
Clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators resumed in the city center of Almaty in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, according to Al Mayadeen's Bureau Chief in Moscow.
He added that confrontations have spread to other regions in western Kazakhstan, noting that Moscow has expressed concern regarding the events in Kazakhstan and is closely monitoring the developments.
Some 190 have been reported injured in the clashes.
Declaring a state of emergency
On Tuesday, Tokayev signed into law a decree declaring a state of emergency in the west of the country and Almaty, the country's largest city, in light of demonstrations over surging liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices.
Police fired tear gas and stun grenades in a bid to break up the thousands-strong protest in Almaty on Tuesday night. The police later opened fire after the protesters, estimated to be 5,000, refused to disperse.
In an effort to thwart protests following a hike in oil prices, the Kazakhstani President dismissed the country's cabinet on Wednesday.
