Putin’s Troops Prepare to Exit as Kazakh Leader Blasts Oligarchs
- Foreign forces to start pullout in two days, Tokayev says
- President appoints new premier, targets miners for revenue
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Source: Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service/AP Photos
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President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Russian-led troops that helped him crush an uprising would begin to leave in two days as he denounced “oligarchic groups” that dominate Kazakhstan’s economy.
The country is now “stable” after last week’s violence, allowing for the phased withdrawal over 10 days of forces from Russia and other ex-Soviet states that he’d summoned to Kazakhstan, Tokayev told lawmakers Tuesday. He demanded wholesale reform of Kazakh security services, saying officials didn’t respond to what he called a “terrorist” threat from inside and outside the country.