Ambassador: U.S. not behind mass riots in Kazakh Zhanaozen

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.10 / Trend E. Kosolapova / The U.S. is not behind the mass riots in Kazakh Zhanaozen city, the country's Ambassador to Kazakhstan Kenneth Fairfax said during an online conference on Tengrinews.kz website. "Such statements are baseless. The United States strongly condemns terrorism and violence," he said. Earlier, some Kazakhstan and Russia political analysts made statements saying that the U.S. was involved organising the unrest in Kazakhstan's oil town Zhanaozen. Mr Fairfax said on the contrary that Kazakhstan and the United States actively and fruitfully cooperate in countering terrorism and the results of such cooperation have significantly increased the Kazakh population's safety. "As a basis, U.S. policy toward Kazakhstanis as follows. We actively support the development of a safe, secure, prosperous Kazakhstan, which will serve its citizens and play an active and positive role in the global community," Mr Fairfax said. Mass riots hit the Kazakh oil town of Zhanaozen in the Mangistau region on Dec.16 killing 16 and injuring more than 100 people. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev declared a state of emergency in Zhanaozen until Jan.31. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az