EXPLAINER: Kazakhstan seeks Russia-led security group's help
ABC News
As Kazakhstan struggles to cope with an increasingly violent uprising this week, it has turned for help to a Russian-led security bloc, the Collective Security Treaty Organization
MOSCOW -- In the face of mounting domestic unrest and apparent uncertainty over the loyalty of law enforcement and military forces, Kazakhstan’s president has turned to a Russia-dominated security alliance for help.
Within hours, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, or CSTO, announced its readiness to accept the plea for assistance. By Thursday, planeloads of Russian elite airborne units were flying into Kazakhstan. Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Shukhrat Nuryshev said 2,500 CSTO peacekeepers would be deployed.
This marks the first time the CSTO has been engaged in an active operation.
WHAT IS THE CSTO?
