Collective Peacekeeping Forces of CSTO to Withdraw from Kazakhstan Starting Tomorrow

The Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the CSTO will be withdrawn from Kazakhstan according to the planned schedule by January 19 inclusive. This was reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin by Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu, according to TASS.

“Tomorrow we will evacuate all our partners' forces—Armenia, Tajikistan, Belarus. The Kyrgyz partners will leave on their own considering their proximity to the area. The withdrawal of the peacekeepers will be carried out over 5 days,” said the Russian Defense Minister.

Shoigu also noted that an air bridge had been organized for the transfer of CSTO peacekeepers to Kazakhstan. “More than 80 military transport aircraft were involved, as it was necessary to transport peacekeeping forces from all CSTO member countries—Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and, of course, the contingent of the Russian troops along with their equipment,” he reported.