Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to consider freezing the war in Ukraine and returning to a revised version of the 2022 Istanbul peace negotiations, making a rare public appeal for renewed diplomacy from one of Russia’s closest allies.
Speaking alongside Putin during a meeting in the Siberian city of Omsk on Saturday, Tokayev said he had received numerous messages from Europe and the United States concerning the state of the conflict and had decided to relay those views directly because of the significance of the meeting.
“Perhaps it’s time to freeze this conflict and return to the Istanbul formula 2.0, since significant results were achieved there,” Tokayev said, referring to the negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv held during the opening weeks of the war in 2022. Although those talks ultimately failed to produce an agreement, Tokayev suggested that a renewed framework could offer a basis for progress towards ending the conflict.
The Kazakh leader said that any future settlement should be reached “under the guarantees of the great powers, including Russia,” and should move towards what he described as a “long-awaited peace”. At the same time, he made clear that Kazakhstan would not seek to play a direct mediating role between the two sides.
“I refuse to be a mediator, because I know that Russia is a great country, the Russian people are a great people, and, as they say, it will manage on its own without intermediaries,” Tokayev said.
The proposal received a measured response from Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later on Saturday, according to Interfax, that Putin had responded by explaining details of Russia’s military operation. Peskov added that freezing the conflict was impossible given Kyiv’s current position, indicating that Moscow does not consider such an approach viable under present circumstances.
Tokayev’s comments nevertheless represent a notable public intervention by the leader of Kazakhstan, a major Russian trade partner that has sought to maintain a carefully balanced position since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. While repeatedly calling for a diplomatic settlement, Kazakhstan has avoided explicitly calling for a ceasefire.
That cautious approach has remained consistent in the country’s international engagement. Following Tokayev’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the United Nations General Assembly in September, Kazakhstan again advocated a diplomatic resolution without taking on the role of mediator or endorsing specific ceasefire proposals.
The latest appeal also comes as Russia’s negotiating position appears to have become more rigid. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people close to the Kremlin, that Moscow is no longer willing to return some occupied territories to Ukraine as part of any future agreement to end the war. Putin has previously rejected proposals for a truce during peace negotiations, arguing that such a pause would allow Ukraine to rearm and strengthen its defensive capabilities.
Meanwhile, developments surrounding North Korea’s support for Russia continue to draw attention. On Saturday, President Zelenskyy claimed that Russia is seeking 30,000 North Korean troops as well as additional ballistic missile launchers from Pyongyang, although he did not disclose the source of the information.
According to U.S. and South Korean officials, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s government has already been supplying troops and weapons in support of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. During a recent visit to Moscow, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui met both Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, reaffirming Kim’s support for Russia’s war effort.
