On Wednesday January 5, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon had a telephone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is the current rotating chair of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)’s Collective Security Council, according to the Tajik president’s official website.
In the course of the talks, Pasinyan reportedly informed Rahmon about an official appeal by Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for help neutralizing the threat that has arisen in the country.
On January 6, Emomali Rahmon had telephone conversations with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
During the conversation, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reportedly informed his Tajik counterpart about the current developments in Kazakhstan and measures taken by the government to stabilize the situation in the country.
For his part, Emomali Rahmon supported efforts of Kazakhstan’s leadership and expressed hope that that it will be possible to restore stability and rule-of-law through dialogue, the Tajik president’s official website said.
Tajik leader reportedly also stated Tajikistan’s readiness to participate in the CSTO peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan.
As far as the phone talks between Emomali Rahmon and Shavkat Mirziyoyev that also took place on January 6 are concerned, the parties reportedly expressed hope that calm and rule-of-law will be restored in Kazakhstan as soon as possible
The protests began in the west of the country at the weekend, after a sharp rise in fuel prices, but have spread quickly and taken Kazakhstan’s authorities and international observers by surprise.
On Wednesday, there were further reports of violent clashes and shooting in Almaty and other cities, as well as unverified videos suggesting casualties among protesters.
Kazakh media outlets cited the interior ministry as saying 317 police and national guard servicemen were injured and eight killed “by the hands of a raging crowd”. There have been no reliable estimates of civilian casualties.
Earlier in the day, the Almaty mayor’s office was set on fire, with smoke and flames visible from several floors of the imposing building. Many flights were diverted or cancelled after the apparent storming of the airport. Kazakh media outlets reported authorities took the airport back under control after a firefight.
In other cities, including Aktobe in the west of the country, crowds tried to storm government buildings. There were reports and videos of police cars set on fire and security vehicles seized by the crowd.
On Wednesday, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev accepted the government's resignation. Earlier Wednesday, President Tokayev declared a state of emergency in Almaty and Mangystau region for the period until January 19.
