MOSCOW, Jan 5 Reuters -- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Kazakhstan could solve its own problems and it was important that no one interfered from the outside, RIA news agency reported.
It quoted Peskov as saying that Kazakhstan had not requested Russian help to deal with protests triggered by a fuel price increase that caused the resignation of its government on Wednesday.
Russia is sensitive to the unrest in former Soviet republics, which it regards as part of its sphere of influence, and has accused the West of stoking revolutions in countries such as Georgia and Ukraine in the past.
Russia's foreign ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation in its southern neighbour and counting on the earliest possible normalisation. It also said that it was advocating for the peaceful resolution of all problems within the constitutional and legal framework and dialogue rather than through street riots and the violation of laws.
It said that this was the ultimate goal of the steps taken by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to deal with existing problems quickly, including those contained in the legitimate demands of the protesters. The Russian statement used more cautious language than Tokayev, who blamed the violence on domestic and foreign provocateurs.