ArmInfo. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the mission of the CSTO peacekeepers will end after the situation in Kazakhstan is completely stabilized. "The implementation of tasks by the Collective Peacekeeping Forces will be carried out until the situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan is completely stabilized, of course, by decision of the leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan", said Shoigu at the conference call.
The minister added that at the moment the CSTO peacekeepers are guarding important military, state and socially significant facilities on the territory of Kazakhstan. Shoigu recalled that the deployment of the peacekeeping forces was completed on October 9.
"In a short time, in just three days, personnel and equipment were transferred by aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces. This became possible due to the high coordination and efficiency of the actions of the armed forces of the CSTO member states, achieved as a result of joint exercises, as well as the experience gained during the deployment of Russian troops in Syria and the peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno- Karabakh", the head of the Russian Defense Ministry emphasized, TV "Zvezda" reports. Shoigu also set the task for 2022 to continue equipping the RF Armed Forces with high-precision weapons. Today, head of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, at a plenary meeting of the Mazhilis said that, in general, the acute phase of the counter-terrorist operation has been passed, the situation is stable in all regions. "In this regard, I declare that the main mission of the CSTO peacekeeping forces has been successfully completed. In two days, a phased withdrawal of the CSTO united peacekeeping contingent will begin, "said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, adding that the withdrawal process will take no more than 10 days.