‘We are not occupiers, we did not come of our own accord’: Lukashenko on CSTO peacekeepers in Kazakhstan

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, believes that it should not be allowed for CSTO peacekeepers to be presented as occupiers in Kazakhstan. He stated this during the online session of the CSTO Collective Security Council held today.

Such attempts are already being made, but the peacekeepers arrived in the country at the request of the Kazakh leadership to provide support. “We are not occupiers. We did not come of our own accord. We were invited by our brother, our friend, who is responsible for this vast country,” said Lukashenko.

According to him, the deployment of peacekeepers has disrupted the plans of the organizers of the unrest. Furthermore, Lukashenko asserted that there are many individuals who wish to destabilize the situation in Central Asia and the post-Soviet republics. If lessons are not learned from the events in Kazakhstan, the situation could repeat itself in Uzbekistan.

“The lessons that have been widely discussed here must be learned, especially in Uzbekistan. If we do not learn these lessons, according to our information, their gaze will turn towards Uzbekistan,” Lukashenko noted.

Serious challenges await the organization’s member states in the near future, and the CSTO needs to be strengthened.