ALMATY (Reuters) -A Russia-led military bloc began pulling out from Kazakhstan on Thursday after a week-long deployment amid an explosion of unrest during which authorities in the Central Asian nation said the former security chief was suspected of attempting a coup.
Russia said the withdrawal of the troops would be completed by Jan. 19, earlier than previously announced. Their deployment had been criticised by Western leaders alarmed by a buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine. Moscow has denied allegations it plans to invade but said security talks this week had hit a dead end https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-us-nato-talks-so-far-unsuccessful-2022-01-13 and threatened unspecified consequences.
