The Kazakh President nominated Alikhan Smailov for prime minister on Tuesday, and the lower house of parliament swiftly voted him in during a session broadcast live on state television. Smailov, 49, served as first deputy prime minister in the previous cabinet which President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed last week amid violent unrest in the oil-rich Central Asian nation.

The main mission of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) peacekeeping forces has been successfully completed, Tokayev told parliament in a video conference.

In two days’ time, a phased withdrawal of the CSTO united peacekeeping contingent will begin, he said, adding that the withdrawal process of the contingent will take no more than 10 days.

Source: VOV5