Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on July 25 proposed freezing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine and returning to negotiations during a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Speaking at a Russian-Kazakh forum in Omsk, Tokayev emphasized that he regarded the war as an interstate conflict rather than a civil war.
He proposed returning to a format he described as an “Istanbul formula 2.0” and said security guarantees from major powers, including Russia, could create conditions for a peaceful settlement.
The Russian side did not publicly support the proposal to freeze the fighting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Putin regarded a simple freeze of the conflict as impossible under Kyiv’s current position.
Moscow continues to insist on its own terms for a settlement, including demands that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the four regions Russia has declared its own and that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO.