Reuters/ Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that a Moscow-led military detachment deployed to counter unrest in Kazakhstan would remain in the Central Asian country for only a “limited” period.
“A contingent of CSTO peacekeeping forces has been sent to Kazakhstan — and I want to emphasize this — for a limited time period,” Putin said during a meeting of leaders from ex-Soviet countries, during which he added that Kazakhstan had been targeted by “international terrorism” and vowed that Russia would not allow “revolutions” in the region.
Over the weekend, Russia responded angrily to a comment by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Kazakhstan might have a hard time getting rid of Russian troops, saying he should reflect instead on US military meddling around the world. Blinken on Friday challenged Russia’s justification for sending forces into Kazakhstan after days of violent unrest in the Central Asian country.
“One lesson of recent history is that once Russians are in your house, it’s sometimes very difficult to get them to leave,” Blinken said. Russia’s foreign ministry called Blinken’s remark “typically offensive” and accused him of joking about tragic events in Kazakhstan. It said Washington should analyse its own track record of interventions in countries such as Vietnam and Iraq.
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“If Antony Blinken loves history lessons so much, then he should take the following into account: when Americans are in your house, it can be difficult to stay alive and not be robbed or raped,” the ministry said on its Telegram social media channel.