Russia-led military alliance will send ‘peacekeepers’ to Kazakhstan, Armenian PM says

The President Tokayev said a number of measures aimed “to stabilize the socio-economic situation” had been put into place, including government regulation of fuel prices for a period of 180 days, a moratorium on increasing utility tariffs for the population for the same period, and the consideration of rent subsidies for “vulnerable segments of the population.” On Tuesday, Tokayev said on his official Twitter feed the government has decided to reduce the price for LPG in the Mangistau region to 50 tenge ($0.11) per liter “in order to ensure stability in the country.” Tokayev said in a national television address Wednesday that he will take control of the Kazakhstan’s Security Council — a move that seemingly sidelines his predecessor, longtime President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who led the country since it was a Soviet Republic until his departure in 2019, and has remained an influential but controversial figure behind the scenes and on the council since.The US State Department’s 2018 human rights report noted Kazakhstan’s 2015 presidential election, in which Nazarbayev received 98% of votes cast, “was marked by irregularities and lacked genuine political competition.”On Wednesday, State Department Spokesman Ned Price said in a statement the US “is closely following the situation in Kazakhstan,” adding “We ask for all Kazakhstanis to respect and defend constitutional institutions, human rights, and media freedom, including through the restoration of internet service.”CNN’s Nathan Hodge contributed to this report.