Shoigu: CSTO forces will be withdrawn from Kazakhstan by January 19

The withdrawal of the CSTO peacekeeping forces from Kazakhstan, where they were sent due to the unrest in the country, will be completed on January 19, that is, seven days after it began, reported the head of the Russian Defense Ministry, Sergei Shoigu, to President Vladimir Putin. "We begin withdrawal today. Tomorrow we will take all the forces of our colleagues - Armenia, Tajikistan, and Belarus - out in 14 ships. The Kyrgyz colleagues are leaving - given that they are close by - on their own. Over the next five days, as the facilities are handed over, the rest of the peacekeeping forces will be withdrawn as well. We plan to complete all the work on the 19th," said Mr. Shoigu (as quoted on the Kremlin website). Putin replied that "on the whole, we should return home: we have completed our task. Earlier today, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas said that the troop withdrawal will take up to ten days. At the same time, he noted that the Interior Ministry of Kazakhstan will continue "intensive mopping-up and arresting suspects. This morning, the Ministry of Defense reported that military equipment was being loaded onto planes. Read in Kommersant english On January 2, protests broke out in Kazakhstan over higher prices for liquefied gas, which later escalated into clashes with police and riots. On January 6, following an escalation of the situation, the CSTO launched a peacekeeping mission at Kazakhstan's request. An anti-terrorist operation ended in most regions of the country. The exceptions were Almaty, Almaty and Dzhambul regions.