Putin, after Kazakh unrest, says Russian-led bloc will stymie any coups

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an extraordinary meeting of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on the situation in Kazakhstan after violent protests, via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia January 10, 2022. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS

NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday blamed Kazakhstan's violent unrest on destructive internal and external forces, and said the Russian-led CSTO military alliance would not allow its member governments to be toppled in ex-Soviet "colour revolutions".

He told an online meeting of the leaders of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation by video link that the deployment of CSTO troops had prevented armed groups from undermining the basis of power in Kazakhstan.