UPDATE - Planes With Russian Peacekeepers Return From Kazakhstan To Russia - Defense Ministry

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2022) Russian peacekeepers deployed to Kazakhstan as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) mission have arrived at the Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow from Kazakhstan, the Russian Defense Ministry informs.

Earlier, the ministry said that more Russian peacekeepers from the CSTO collective force had left the Kazakh city of Almaty and were on their way to Russia.

"Today, the first Il-76 aircraft of the military transport aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces with Russian peacekeepers from the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the CSTO arrived from Kazakhstan at the Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow," the defense ministry said on Monday morning.

In a later statement, the ministry said that all14 aircraft that were supposed to arrive from Kazakhstan to Russia on Monday had successfully landed at the Chkalovsky airfield.

On Sunday, the Russian defense ministry said that 19 aircraft carried out the transfer of Russian peacekeepers from Almaty to the Chkalovsky airfield.

Peacekeepers from Armenia, Belarus and Uzbekistan have already returned home from Kazakhstan.

The return of all CSTO peacekeepers is scheduled to be completed by January 19.

A wave of protests swept across Kazakhstan earlier this month, following a sharp rise in gas prices. Despite the government's attempts to quell the discontent and promises to bring the prices down, violence erupted in Kazakhstan and protests turned into riots, looting and clashes with law enforcement officers.

The government declared a state of emergency until January 19. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asked for CSTO assistance in resolving the crisis situation and peacekeepers were sent into Kazakhstan. The CSTO mission wrapped up earlier this month and peacekeepers began to withdraw on January 13.