YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan issued a statement on the developments in Kazakhstan, underscoring that “pan-Turkist radical circles” are obviously behind the deadly events.

He described the events in Kazakhstan as “concerning and dangerous not only for Kazakhstan but for its neighboring countries and adjacent regions.”

“It is obvious that extremist groups and formations are behind the plans on destabilizing the situation and forming a zone of terrorism and instability in and around Kazakhstan. In this context it is also obvious that pan-Turkist radical circles are actively participating in this process,” President Harutyunyan said.

The President said the deployment of the CSTO peacekeepers into Kazakhstan was the “most effective” way to prevent the growing danger and new disasters.”

He further noted that thanks to the timely intervention of the CSTO Collective Forces – particularly the Russian peacekeeping mission – the Kazakh authorities are on track to fight and neutralize organized crime. Therefore, it was possible to prevent a destabilization in Central Asia and adjacent regions, which would pose a serious threat to Artsakh and Armenia.

In the statement, President Harutyunyan noted that during the 2020 war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, they witnessed the cruelest manifestations of extremism and terrorism. President Harutyunyan said that the war was stopped and the situation was stabilized thanks to the serious efforts from several members of the international community, particularly the decisive contribution of Russia and the role of the Russian peacekeeping mission.

“The example of Kazakhstan and a number of other countries once again showed the need for developing coordinated approaches and enhancing practical cooperation over international and regional security issues, namely against the threat of terrorism coming from extremist organizations and groups. And generally, modern-era security, economic and ecological and numerous other challenges reaffirm that encouraging integration processes, establishing new-level cooperation and formation of various union organizations have become imperative and a more viable measure to minimize various threats and developing effective mechanisms for fighting these threats,” President Harutyunyan said.