Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a "lengthy" phone conversation to discuss the situation in Kazakhstan following unprecedented unrest, the Kremlin has said.
It said that President Tokayev informed Mr Putin "in detail" about the situation in the country, "noting that it is developing towards stabilisation," the Kremlin said in a statement.
Mr Tokayev also thanked the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) military alliance and "especially" Russia for its help in quelling the protests that broke out earlier this week.
"The presidents exchanged views on the measures taken to restore order in Kazakhstan," the Kremlin said.
The two leaders agreed to remain in "constant" contact and to hold a CSTO video conference meeting in the coming days, the Kremlin added.
Long seen as one of the most stable of the five ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, Kazakhstan plunged into chaos this week, prompting Mr Tokayev to call in troops from the Moscow-led alliance.
Meanwhile, the former head of the country's domestic security agency has been detained on suspicion of treason, the agency said.
The detention of Karim Masimov, a former prime minister and longtime ally of Kazakhstan's ex-leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, was the first major move against a top official in the biggest crisis the ex-Soviet Central Asian republic has faced in years.
Mr Nazarbayev's spokesman meanwhile denied rumours the ex-president had left the country and said he was urging Kazakhs to rally around the government.
President Tokayev sacked Mr Masimov earlier this week after protests over rising fuel prices erupted into widespread violence, with government buildings in the largest city Almaty stormed and set ablaze.
Authorities said yesterday the situation was largely under control, but President Tokayev issued a shoot-to-kill order and rejected any negotiations with protesters.
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An AFP correspondent in Almaty said the city was quiet but tense today, with security forces firing warning shots at anyone approaching a central square.
Mr Masimov, 56, twice served as Mr Nazarbayev's prime minister and had been head of the National Security Committee, or KNB, since 2016.
The KNB said in a statement that it had launched an investigation into charges of high treason on Thursday and that Mr Masimov had been detained the same day "on suspicion of committing this crime".
It said others had also been arrested and that Mr Masimov was being held in a temporary detention centre, but provided no further information.
Rumours have swirled of infighting among the Kazakh elite, with speculation that Mr Nazarbayev - who stepped down in 2019 after decades in power and hand-picked President Tokayev as his successor - had fled the country.
Mr Tokayev also took over from Mr Nazarbayev this week as head of the country's security council.
Denouncing those spreading "knowingly false and speculative information," Mr Nazarbayev's spokesman Aidos Ukibay said today the ex-leader was in the capital Nur-Sultan and in "direct contact" with President Tokayev.
Mr Nazarbayev "calls on everyone to rally around the president of Kazakhstan to overcome current challenges and ensure the integrity of the country," Mr Ukibay said on Twitter.
In a hardline address to the nation yesterday, the president said 20,000 "armed bandits" had attacked Almaty and authorised his forces to shoot to kill without warning.
He ridiculed calls from abroad for negotiations as "nonsense", saying: "We are dealing with ... bandits and terrorists. So they must be destroyed."
The initial cause of the protests was a spike in fuel prices but a government move to lower the prices and the sacking of the cabinet failed to stop demonstrations continuing.
The violence erupted when police fired tear gas and stun grenades at thousands protesting in Almaty late on Tuesday.
