Kazakhstan's President Tokayev urges freeze on Ukraine war at meeting with Putin in Omsk

Tokayev also acknowledged that no way out of the crisis was currently in sight. "Also interesting: how does one get out of this situation? Nobody knows, because there are the positions of both sides," he said in Omsk. In doing so, he referred to the entrenched fronts between Moscow and Kyiv, as well as the Western capitals.

Background: Kazakhstan's balancing act toward Moscow

Kazakhstan, which maintains a land border with Russia of more than 7,600 kilometers, has pursued a diplomatic balancing act since the beginning of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The Central Asian country continues to maintain close economic and political ties with Moscow, but has at the same time sought contacts with the Ukrainian government and Western partners.

With his initiative in Omsk, Tokayev is positioning himself as a mediator in the war that has been ongoing since February 2022. He proposed the word "freeze" as a possible formula – a term that has been used repeatedly in the history of post-Soviet conflicts, such as the wars in Nagorno-Karabakh or in the Transnistria region.

What a "freeze" would mean

A "freeze" would mean that current fighting is halted, but the front lines are not permanently settled through a formal peace treaty. The Ukrainian government and several EU states have so far rejected such a scenario as insufficient and insist on a comprehensive settlement that restores Ukraine's territorial integrity.

According to the Kremlin, Putin did not comment directly on Tokayev's initiative. At the joint press conference, the Russian president, according to both delegations, stressed the "strategic partnership" between Russia and Kazakhstan. On the fighting in Ukraine, he is reported to have been evasive.

Reactions from Moscow and the West

Observers assess Tokayev's remarks as an unusually blunt public appeal from a Moscow ally to the Russian leadership. The initiative comes at a time when the EU is preparing additional sanctions against Russia and Ukraine is stepping up its efforts to drum up international support.

On the sidelines of the summit in Omsk, energy and trade agreements between Russia and Kazakhstan were also negotiated. Concrete results on these issues were not made public on Saturday. Instead, the focus of attention was Tokayev's appeal for a halt to the war.

The Kremlin said after the meeting that the dialogue between Russia and Kazakhstan had been "constructive and trusting." Kazakh government circles stressed that Tokayev had conveyed his position in Omsk "clearly and directly." No reaction from the Ukrainian government to the initiative was initially available.

International reactions to the Kazakh initiative were initially muted. The EU and the United States, according to diplomats, took a wait-and-see stance and pointed to the need for a "just and lasting peace."