'Nature of this conflict is not entirely clear' — Kazakhstan's Tokayev urges freeze in Russia's war against Ukraine

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comments from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on July 25 called for Russia's war against Ukraine to be frozen and urged a return to peace negotiations based on a revised version of the Istanbul talks.

Speaking alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Kazakhstan Forum of Interregional Cooperation in the Siberian city of Omsk, Tokayev said the war should be frozen to create conditions for a negotiated settlement.

"The nature of this conflict is not entirely clear to many, including us," Tokayev said.

"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 added.

"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 praised Putin's "utmost diplomatic flexibility" during his August 2025 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska.

Russian officials have portrayed the August 2025 summit as a turning point that laid the groundwork for future negotiations on Ukraine. Moscow said the two sides reached an "understanding" that Ukraine would cede the Donbas region to Russia as part of a future peace settlement, while U.S. officials denied that any final agreement had been reached.

Tokayev's comments marked a rare public call from the leader of one of Russia's closest regional partners for Moscow to pursue a negotiated end to the war.

In response to the comments, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rebuked Tokayev's assertion of a pause in hostilities, telling reporters that "a freeze as such is impossible."

"For us, there is a key condition: we must achieve our goals," Peskov added, referring to Putin's maximalist demands to end the war.

Russia and Ukraine first held peace talks in Istanbul shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The two sides resumed negotiations in the Turkish city in 2025, but neither round produced a breakthrough.