TEHRAN – Iran has warned that some foreign actors are after misusing Kazakhstan’s tensions to stoke unrest in the Central Asian country.
“It is clear that Kazakhstan’s developments are an internal issue, but some foreign parties are after manipulating the circumstances towards stoking the unrest and creating instability in the country,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.
“Stability and security in Kazakhstan is of special importance. Therefore, we hope that calm is restored in the country as fast as possible,” he added.
The spokesman said he was confident that understanding between the “brotherly country’s government and people” would frustrate the nation’s ill-wishers.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Friday constitutional order had mostly been restored in the Central Asian nation as security forces appeared in control of the streets in the country’s main city of Almaty.
“An anti-terrorist operation has been launched. The forces of law and order are working hard. Constitutional order has largely been restored in all regions of the country,” Tokayev declared in a statement.
“Local authorities are in control of the situation. But terrorists are still using weapons and damaging the property of citizens,” he said. “Therefore, counter-terrorist actions should be continued until the militants are completely eliminated.”
The country’s interior ministry also announced that 26 “armed criminals” had been “liquidated” and more than 3,000 were detained, adding that 18 police and national guard officers had been killed since the protests began early this week over a sharp hike in fuel prices.
Russia has reacted to the ongoing unrest in Kazakhstan, warning against any outside interference in the internal affairs of the Central Asian nation.