Putin's Spokesman Says Kremlin Unaware of Ex-President Nazarbayev's Whereabouts

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th January, 2022) Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Wednesday that he has no information concerning the whereabouts of ex-Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and whether the Russian president maintains contacts with him after a wave of protests rocked Kazakhstan.

Speculations were rife about whether Nazarbayev fled his country during the protests and whether the Russian leader maintained a contact with him. However, Nazarbayev's spokesman told reporters that the ex-president has been in Kazakhstan all along.

"For the third day in a row I am informing you that I have not received any information on this matter," Peskov said while answering a question about what the Kremlin knows regarding the whereabouts and fate of the former Kazakh leader.

Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in January when residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country demonstrated against a twofold increase in prices for liquefied gas. The protests later spread to other cities, including Almaty, the republic's largest city. In response, the authorities declared a state of emergency across the country until January 19, launched a counter-terrorism operation and invited peacekeepers of the regional CSTO bloc. Almost 1,000 people were injured in the protests, the United Nations said. According to the country's interior ministry, 17 security officers were killed in the mayhem.