Turkiye reaffirms support to Kazakhstan

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Foreign ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) convened on Tuesday just as the unrest in Kazakhstan gradually began to subside.

In the virtually held extraordinary meeting on the latest developments in Kazakhstan, Turkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara will stand with Kazakhstan and its people, and affirmed readiness "to mobilize all resources."

He welcomed the return to stability in the Central Asian country as well as the appointment of Alihan Smailov as the new premier of Kazakhstan.

Cavusoglu noted that a peaceful and stable Kazakhstan is vital for regional peace.

"Kazakh people also have the common sense to display a spirit of unity and solidarity in order to find solutions to current problems," he added.

The Turkish minister stressed the necessity of cooperation within the OTC member states in the areas of security and intelligence in a more regular and institutionalized way.

Cavusoglu further said that the region is "the center of geopolitical interest."

He added: "We are the actors of cooperation and prosperity, not of geopolitical competition, because prosperity, stability and peace glorify states and nations."

- Azerbaijan

For his part, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said: "It is our common responsibility to stand by our Kazakh brothers in these difficult times."

"Azerbaijan stands for the earliest normalization of situation in Kazakhstan and restoration of the rule of law," Bayramov added.

He stressed that illegal use of force and violence that undermines public order and threatens fundamental human rights and civil liberties cannot be justified and should, therefore, be strongly condemned and rejected.

After liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices in Kazakhstan doubled on Jan. 2, triggering protests, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the country

He later asked the Russian-led military alliance the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for help, which sent troops to quell the unrest.

The troops are expected to withdraw over the next 10 days.