World

Kazakh leader seeks Ukraine war freeze, Putin looks on

By AAP Newswire

Jul 26, 2026

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Vladimir Putin — Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wants the Ukrainian conflict frozen and talks restarted. -AP

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev says a Ukraine peace deal might ‌be reached if the two ‌sides freeze the conflict and resume negotiations.

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Speaking alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Russia-Kazakhstan forum in the Siberian ‌city ‌of ⁠Omsk, Tokayev praised Putin's "utmost diplomatic flexibility".

"If I may offer my humble opinion, since I have been asked, perhaps it is time to freeze this ⁠conflict ‌and return to the Istanbul formula 2.0," he said.

Russia and Ukraine participated in talks in Istanbul soon after Russia's full-scale invasion in early 2022 and again in 2025, although the discussions failed to ‌produce a breakthrough.

"With (security) guarantees from the great powers, including Russia, we could move forward toward a long-awaited peace," Tokayev said.

"This must be brought to ⁠an end."

Tokayev also expressed Kazakhstan's respect for the Ukrainian people and their culture.

He further noted that the Russia-Ukraine war had an interstate character that is difficult to fully understand from the outside.

In 2022, several months after the start of Russia's military invasion in Ukraine, Tokayev stated in the presence of Putin that Kazakhstan would never recognise the Russian annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

with EFE