US expands influence in Kazakhstan via training programs: Russian MFA
3 Min Read
Responding to reports on NATO's presence in Kazakhstan, Russian diplomat Alexander Sternik says that current activities are legal.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin,(R) and Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (L) pose for a photo during a meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, October 7, 2023. (AP)
The United States is working on expanding its presence in Kazakhstan through training programs for peacekeepers and military personnel, the director of the Third Department of the Commonwealth of Independent States of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Sternik, told Sputnik.
Social media posts indicated that a NATO Peacekeeping Operations Center had been established in Kazakhstan, which shares a 7,644-kilometer border with the Russian Federation.
However, the country's Ministry of Defense denied these reports, claiming that the center was a new conference hall for its peacekeeping operations center in Almaty, which had been subject to terrorist attacks.
The Russian official echoed the Kazakh Defense Ministry's comments, saying "it is incorrect to speak about the opening of 'NATO center' in Kazakhstan."
"Since 2006, it has been training military, police, and civilian personnel according to NATO standards, which meet the criteria for training contingents to participate in UN peacekeeping operations," Sternik explained.
US indirectly building relations with Kazakhstan
Nonetheless, Sternik pointed out that the US is attempting to draw itself closer to Kazakhstan's government by expanding its role in peacekeeping training programs. The US would also be indirectly training and building relations with the country's military personnel via these programs, Sternik underlined.
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"All CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] member countries adhere to the obligation not to allow the deployment of military contingents of third countries without the agreement of their allies," the diplomat clarified. He added that there have not been any talks regarding the deployment of US military personnel or the establishment of new infrastructure in Kazakhstan.
As Sternik explained, Kazakhstan, a CSTO member country is obliged to seek the agreement of Russia and others about the deployment of US or foreign troops in its territories.
Kazakhstan experienced a wave of protests and terror attacks leading its authorities to request that CSTO peacekeepers be deployed in its territories in January 2022.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at the time that the CTSO forces will remain in the country "until the situation is completely stabilized." Russian President Vladimir Putin also emphasized Moscow's intent to assist the Kazakh government in maintaining law and order amid waves of insurgency.
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