Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Monday reiterated the country’s support for Kazakhstan's peace, stability, unity and territorial integrity amid ongoing unrest in the Central Asian country.

"Turkey will always stand by its friend and brother Kazakhstan under all circumstances,” said Omer Celik during an AK Party Central Executive Board meeting chaired by President and AK Party Chair Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The closed-door meeting at party headquarters lasted three-and-a-half hours.

Underlining that Turkey and Kazakhstan have deep-rooted relations, Celik said Ankara is closely following the situation in Kazakhstan.

Praising "productive and extensive” high-level visits between the two countries, Celik said the establishment of the Organization of Turkic States was a very valuable step to enhance relations between Turkic-speaking nations.

Foreign ministers of the Organization of Turkic States will hold an extraordinary meeting via videoconference on Jan. 11 to evaluate recent developments in Kazakhstan.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu also Sunday said Turkey will help Kazakhstan establish peace and stability as soon as possible.

He said Turkey hoped Kazakhstan will soon restore peace in the country.

"For this, we will provide all kinds of support as Turkey and the Organization of Turkic States,” he added.

Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades after days of protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest.

The focus of the protests in the oil and gas-rich former Soviet republic has been on Almaty, located in the southeast of the country, in recent days. Almaty is Kazakhstan's economic epicenter and biggest city.

After gas prices in Kazakhstan doubled on Jan. 2, triggering protests, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in Almaty and Mangystau before expanding it nationwide.

He later requested a Russian-based military alliance for help, which sent troops to quell the unrest.

Protesters stormed government buildings and fought running battles with police and the military, with officials saying 748 security officers were wounded and 18 killed. However, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Friday that constitutional order had been mainly restored.

It is not clear how many troops are being deployed under the force – which includes units from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan – but media in Moscow have said the Russian contingent is expected to number less than 5,000.

Turkey has sought closer ties with Turkic-speaking Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.

Welcoming support from Turkey and the Organization of Turkic States, Kazakhstan is currently striving to achieve calm and order with new reforms on the way after days of protests across the country, the nation's ambassador also highlighted.

As the unrest in Kazakhstan starts to ease, the country will engage in busy reforms in the socioeconomic and political realms to address the concerns of the people while investigating the criminal acts and powers behind the recent incidents, the nation’s ambassador to Turkey, Abzal Saparbekuly, said Friday.

“In the general sense, the situation in all cities is calm. The people of Kazakhstan have seen that these protests, which started in a peaceful manner, have exceeded the limits in Almaty,” Saparbekuly told Daily Sabah in an exclusive interview, indicating that widespread looting, attacks and storming of administrative buildings have taken place during the unrest.

Israel's illegal settlements

Celik also condemned Israel’s approval of new plans to construct over 3,500 additional illegal settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem.

Underlining that Israel’s recent "radical” steps undermine the two-state perspective, Celik said they also prevent the emergence of a self-contained Palestinian state.

Celik called on the United Nations to take action against Israel's ongoing illegal settlement activities in Palestinian territories and urged the world body to take legal measures to prevent recent acts.

His statements came after the approval of five settlement plans containing 3,557 new settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem by a local Israeli planning committee last week.

Israel has in recent years intensified its settlement activities in East Jerusalem.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is regarded as occupied territory under international law, making all Jewish settlements there illegal.

There are more than 250 illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967. More than 500,000 settlers make life more difficult for Palestinians living under the occupation.

The settlements Israel approved recently in occupied East Jerusalem are against international law, the Turkish Foreign Ministry also said on Thursday.

Known for its unbreakable solidarity with the Palestinians, Turkey has been voicing support for the Palestinian cause in the international realm for decades. Turkish authorities emphasize that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the Middle East is through a fair and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue within the framework of international law and United Nations resolutions.

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