Russia's worst fears of terrorists from Afghanistan penetrating into the countries of the Central Asian region could be coming true with the current state of emergency in Kazakhstan, country's Ambassador to the United States has suggested.
Moscow has been worried for the past many months about the current situation in Afghanistan, saying that the return of "international terrorist organisation" Taliban does not give "cause for optimism" as people with radical ideology can even slip into Russia through the Russian-Kazakh section of the state border.
Early Monday, Anatoly Ivanovich, Russia's top diplomat in Washington, said that thousands of "jihadists" are involved in attempting a "colorful" revolution and causing massive unrest in Kazakhstan.
"Kazakhstan was hit by radicals confessing a human-hatred ideology. Thousands of jihadists and looters tried to undermine the constitutional order. Weapons are being used against civilians. They cause damage to state and private property," Ivanovich said in a post on the embassy's Facebook page.
"I see all this happening after the American flee from Afghanistan and the rapid development in the background of extremist ideas and currents in the region," he added.
Russian military transport aircraft arrives at the Almaty airfield (Video courtesy: Ministry of Defence, Russia)
IndiaNarrative.com had last October reported about Russian President Vladimir Putin admitting at the annual meeting of the security chiefs of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that terrorists on the warpath from conflict zones in Syria and Iraq are being redirected to Afghanistan after Taliban's return.
"Militants with experience in waging war in Syria and Iraq are being drawn there. So, it is possible that terrorists might try to destabilise the situation in neighbouring countries, including the CIS countries, and go as far as starting to expand outrightly," Putin had said at the meeting of CIS Heads of Security Agencies and Intelligence Services.
Ivanovich highlighted that last year, during the Capitol assault, the US authorities had not disputed the necessity of restoring order and bringing the instigators of the mayhem to justice. He emphasised that it is "principle of the inevitability of punishment", especially in relation to those who encroach on the lives of innocent people, which remains fundamental to any law-based State.
"From where did the half of terrorists appear in Kazakhstan? Who guided them and helped them? This is a new attempt at a 'colourful' revolution with the help of thugs and robbers. I am sure that the competent authorities of Kazakhstan will deal with the situation, and the roots of terrorism will be uprooted from Kazakhstan's land," he wrote on Monday.
Moscow has urged that "all democratic forces in the world" should help the government of Kazakhstan recover from the current turmoil, and try not to deteriorate the situation.
"The first hours of the CSTO peacekeeping contingent operation demonstrate its effectiveness, focus on restoring peace and constitutional order. All decisions on sending collective forces to Kazakhstan were made according to the CSTO statutory documents and at the request of the legitimate President of the country Kassym-Jomart Tokayev," stated Ivanovich.
After the events of January 5-6, the situation in and around Almaty is gradually changing for the better with the authorities saying that there is a normalisation of economic activity in Kazakhstan.
Public transport has been resumed in the Mangistau region, as well as the Aktau international airport next to the Caspian Sea.
"In Alma-Ata, administrative buildings have been cleared of extremists. Many militants have been liquidated or detained, and their identities are being established. The cleaned-up areas of the city are returning to normal," said the Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday.
Russian citizens departing from Kazakhstan early Monday (Video courtesy: Ministry of Defence, Russia)
Meanwhile, the Joe Biden administration has said that it remains "very concerned" about the ongoing state of emergency that exists in Kazakhstan.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US is encouraging everyone to find a peaceful and constructive resolution to the situation but remains unclear about the need for involving CSTO forces.
"When it comes to the CSTO, we have questions about the nature of the request, why it came about. We're seeking to learn more about it. It would seem to me that the Kazakh authorities and government certainly have the capacity to deal appropriately with protests, to do so in a way that respects the rights of protesters while maintaining law and order. So, it's not clear why they feel the need for any outside assistance," Blinken told the media in Washington last night.
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