عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Putin, Tokayev Discuss Measures to Quell Unrest in Kazakhstan

A serviceman patrols a street in central Almaty on January 8, 2022. (Photo by Alexandr BOGDANOV / AFP)
A serviceman patrols a street in central Almaty on January 8, 2022. (Photo by Alexandr BOGDANOV / AFP)
TT
TT

Putin, Tokayev Discuss Measures to Quell Unrest in Kazakhstan

A serviceman patrols a street in central Almaty on January 8, 2022. (Photo by Alexandr BOGDANOV / AFP)
A serviceman patrols a street in central Almaty on January 8, 2022. (Photo by Alexandr BOGDANOV / AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a lengthy phone call with his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in which the leaders exchanged their views on the measures being taken to quell unrest in Kazakhstan, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

Tokayev told Putin that the situation in Kazakhstan was stabilizing and thanked him for the deployment of a Russian-led military bloc to Kazakhstan to curb the worst violence the Central Asian country has witnessed since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Kremlin added that Putin supported Tokayev's idea of holding a video conference in the coming days with allies from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which groups six former Soviet republics, to discuss measures to restore order in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan's former intelligence chief has been arrested on suspicion of treason, the state security agency said on Saturday.

The detention of Karim Massimov was announced by the National Security Committee which he headed until he was fired this week by Tokayev.

After several days of violence, security forces appeared to have reclaimed control of the streets of Kazakhstan's main city Almaty on Friday.

Some businesses and petrol stations began to reopen on Saturday in the city of around 2 million people as security forces patrolled the streets. Occasional gunshots could still be heard around the city's main square.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

North Korea's Kim Vows Steadfast Support for Russia’s War in Ukraine

TOPSHOT - This photograph taken and released on November 29, 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry press service shows Russia's Defense Minister Andrei Belousov (4th-L) and his delegation attending a bilateral talks with North Korean delegation in Pyongyang. (Photo by HANDOUT / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)
TOPSHOT - This photograph taken and released on November 29, 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry press service shows Russia's Defense Minister Andrei Belousov (4th-L) and his delegation attending a bilateral talks with North Korean delegation in Pyongyang. (Photo by HANDOUT / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)
TT
TT

North Korea's Kim Vows Steadfast Support for Russia’s War in Ukraine

TOPSHOT - This photograph taken and released on November 29, 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry press service shows Russia's Defense Minister Andrei Belousov (4th-L) and his delegation attending a bilateral talks with North Korean delegation in Pyongyang. (Photo by HANDOUT / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)
TOPSHOT - This photograph taken and released on November 29, 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry press service shows Russia's Defense Minister Andrei Belousov (4th-L) and his delegation attending a bilateral talks with North Korean delegation in Pyongyang. (Photo by HANDOUT / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed his country will “invariably support” Russia’s war in Ukraine as he met Russia's defense chief, the North’s state media reported Saturday.
A Russia military delegation led by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday, amid growing international concern about the two countries’ expanding cooperation after North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia last month.
The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim and Belousov reached “a satisfactory consensus” on boosting strategic partnership and defending each country’s sovereignty, security interests and international justice in the face of the rapidly-changing international security environments in a Friday meeting.
Kim said that North Korea “will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists’ moves for hegemony,” KCNA said.
North Korea has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a defensive response to what both Moscow and Pyongyang call NATO’s “reckless” eastward advance and US-led moves to stamp out Russia’s position as a powerful state.
Kim slammed a US decision earlier in November to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied longer-range missiles as a direct intervention in the conflict. He called recent Russian strikes on Ukraine “a timely and effective measure" demonstrate Russia's resolve, KCNA said.
According to US, Ukrainian and South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia and some of them have already begun engaging in combat on the frontlines. US, South Korean and others say North Korea has also shipped artillery systems, missiles and other conventional weapons to replenish Russia’s exhausted weapons inventory.
Both North Korea and Russia haven’t formally confirmed the North Korean troops’ movements, and have steadfastly denied reports of weapons shipments.
South Korea, the US and their partners are concerned that Russia could give North Korea advanced weapons technology in return, including help to build more powerful nuclear missiles.
Last week, South Korean national security adviser Shin Wonsik told a local SBS TV program that Seoul assessed that Russia has provided air defense missile systems to North Korea. He said Russia also appeared to have given economic assistance to North Korea and various military technologies, including those needed for the North’s efforts to build a reliable space-based surveillance system.
Belousov also met North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol on Friday. During a dinner banquet later the same day, Belousov said the two countries' strategic partnership was crucial to defend their sovereignty from aggression and the arbitrary actions of imperialists, KCNA said.
In June, Kim and Putin signed a treaty requiring both countries to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked. It's considered the two countries’ biggest defense deal since the end of the Cold War.