Authoritarian Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told his troops to “fire without warning” on protests that have erupted over fuel price increases and thanked Russian army troops for arriving to help put the unrest down Friday, the New York Times reports. “We hear calls from abroad for the parties to negotiate to find a peaceful solution to the problems. This is just nonsense. What negotiations can there be with criminals and murderers. They need to be destroyed and this will be done,” said Tokayev in an address to the nation, a day after Putin dispatched Russian army troops to secure “law and order”. “He responded to my appeal very promptly and, most importantly, warmly, in a friendly way,” Tokayev said of Putin.