Russian-led peace forces to start gradual withdrawal from Kazakhstan in 2 days

ANKARA

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday announced the gradual withdrawal of Russian-led peace forces from the country in two days.

At a plenary meeting in the lower house of Parliament, he said the "critical phase of the counter-terror operation has passed," according to Kazinform, a local news agency.

With the return to stability in the country, he said the main mission of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) peacekeeping troops has been completed successfully.

"A gradual withdrawal of the CSTO’s collective peacekeeping troops will begin in the next two days," he said, adding that complete withdrawal could take up to 10 days.

Last week, Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the wake of protests against the doubling of prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

He later asked the CSTO for help, which sent troops to quell the unrest.

In a related development, Alikhan Smailov was elected prime minister of Kazakhstan after 89 deputies voted for him, according to Kazinform.

In an earlier parliamentary meeting, Tokayev proposed Smailov as a candidate for prime minister.

Smailov served as assistant to the Kazakh president from 2015-2018 and worked as Finance Minister from 2018-2019.

In 2021, Smailov was reappointed as first deputy prime minister, also serving as finance minister of Kazakhstan.