Moscow Slams West Calling Russia 'Aggressor' in Situation With Kazakhstan as Nonsense

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The West's statements alleging that Russia is an "aggressor" in the situation with Kazakhstan are nonsense, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

"This operation led to the end of the bloodshed, it stopped it. And right away we [hear] ... from people who have never been either deep analysts or experts in the situation, do not belong to this world at all and are not professionals, we read some kind of nonsense that Russia is an aggressor and so on," Zakharova told the Solovyov Live show on YouTube.

The West's assessments that the peacekeeping forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are deployed in Kazakhstan illegally are dictated by anger, as it cannot respond to a crisis so effectively, Zakharova said.

"I can understand the anger and hatred of people who are now criticizing in the West, expressing bewilderment about the actions of the CSTO at the request of Kazakhstan, given what they did to Afghanistan and how they got out of there," Zakharova said.

Commenting on the CSTO's actions, the diplomat said that the organization acted professionally and quickly stabilized the situation, while all operations by Western nations always failed.

The CSTO member states acted legally in a coordinated and clear way in response to the recent developments in Kazakhstan, Maria Zakharova added.

"The saddest thing is that they [Western partners] did not read the Collective Security Treaty, which clearly states what exactly worries them the most, it has only been spelled out since 1992 ... those mutual support relationships, including with participation, use of the armed forces, which were registered after the countries gained independence," Zakharova told the Solovyov Live show on YouTube.

The diplomat added that there has been such an opportunity for 30 years now, noting that "it has now been used: pointwise, professionally, on the basis of absolutely legal arguments and legal documents."

Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the early days of 2022, with residents of the western cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau protesting a twofold increase in the price of liquefied gas. The protests spilled over to other cities, including the former capital and largest city of Almaty, where looting, attacks on government buildings, and armed clashes with the police broke out. In response, the Kazakh authorities launched an anti-terrorist operation.

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also officially requested the assistance of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in "overcoming the terrorist threat." The CSTO responded by sending peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan to normalize the situation.