Russia’s foreign ministry on Saturday criticized comments from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who on Friday questioned the country’s recent decision to send troops to Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan asked Russia to send troops as the nation faces unrest and violent protests sparked by a hike in gas prices.
On Friday, Blinken told reporters that officials have “questions about the nature” of Kazakhstan’s request, and added that it would seem that the “Kazakh authorities and government certainly can deal appropriately with protests to do so in a way that respects the rights of protesters while maintaining law and order.”
Reuters reported Saturday that the Russia’s foreign ministry called Blinken’s comment “typically offensive.”
“If Antony Blinken loves history lessons so much, then he should take the following into account: when Americans are in your house, it can be difficult to stay alive and not be robbed or raped,” the foreign ministry said on the social media platform Telegram, according to Reuters. “We are taught this not only by the recent past but by all 300 years of American statehood.”
On Wednesday, Russia and other nations in the post-Soviet Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) agreed to send peacekeeping troops to Kazakhstan in the wake of the unrest. In addition to Russia and Kazakhstan, the alliance also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
