Kazakh President to Putin: The nature of Ukraine conflict is not entirely clear to us

Russian and Kazakh Presidents Vladimir Putin and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met in Omsk within the framework of the XXII Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan. At the meeting, Tokayev made a surprisingly straightforward statement.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev unexpectedly raised the issue of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, describing it as an interstate conflict, not a civil war. He proposed freezing the conflict. Tokayev noted that Kazakhstan categorically refuses the role of a mediator, believing that Russia can cope with its own problems, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.

“I do not hide that I receive many signals – I have informed you about them by phone – from Europe and the United States, signals about the current state of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. You know, in my opinion, I have said from the very beginning that this is an interstate conflict. We are not talking about any civil war,” Tokayev said. “We have always respected the Ukrainian people, their culture, their language, and we believe that the essence of this conflict is not entirely clear to many, including us.”

He continued: “This is just my modest opinion, since I am being addressed: perhaps we should freeze this conflict and return to the “Istanbul formula 2.0”, since significant results have been achieved there. And then – of course, with the guarantees of the great powers, including Russia – we can move forward towards the long-awaited peace,” the Kazakh president suggested. “Kazakhstan is not a third country, but at the same time, despite all the proposals and calls, I categorically 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, without mediators, they themselves will resolve all the issues on the agenda.”

“I decided to speak today because people know that I plan to be in Omsk, they know about our meeting and asked me to convey how to resolve this situation,” Tokayev said. "No one knows how to resolve this situation, because the parties have different positions. But on the other hand, there is a moment and an opportunity to put this whole thing on hold. This is an approach proven in international practice."

Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of economic cooperation, noting that Russia is the largest investor in the Kazakh economy, participating in 70 projects with a total volume of about $30 billion. He also mentioned cooperation in the humanitarian sphere and in the international arena, where the countries often share common positions.