OREANDA-NEWS. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko had a telephone conversation with the head of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who informed about the measures taken in the country to stabilize the situation. This was announced on Thursday, January 13, by the press service of the Belarusian leader.

“Kassym-Jomart Tokayev thanked the leader of the Belarusian state for his support, and participating in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (Collective Security Treaty Organization), described the situation and the measures which had been taken to achieve it,” the message says.

The presidents also discussed a number of bilateral issues.

Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a talk on the phone with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The leaders of the countries talked about affairs connected with the start of a coordinated withdrawal of troops of the CSTO member countries from the territory of Kazakhstan. 

“Issues related to the start of a coordinated withdrawal of contingents of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) member countries from the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan were discussed,” the report says.

The President of Kazakhstan also expressed special gratitude for the help and support of Russia.

On January 13, CSTO peacekeepers began handing over guarded objects to Kazakh law enforcement agencies. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the return of CSTO peacekeepers to their countries would be fulfilled in cooperation with the Kazakh side.

Also on Thursday, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas said that the peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan showed that the potential of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is highly effective and really effective. He added that during the CSTO operation, aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces transferred more than 2,000 peacekeepers and 250 pieces of equipment to Kazakhstan.