Kazakhstan's Tokayev proposes freezing Ukraine war during face-to-face Omsk summit with Putin
In a rare direct rebuke, President Tokayev told Vladimir Putin that the fighting in Ukraine must be frozen and proposed returning to the Istanbul peace framework, citing the deaths of young people.
The face-to-face appeal
Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev used a bilateral cooperation summit in the Siberian city of Omsk on 25 July 2026 to call for an immediate halt to Russia's war in Ukraine. Speaking while seated beside Vladimir Putin in front of television cameras, Tokayev asked the Russian leader to "freeze" the conflict, describing the loss of life as a disgrace that must end. The direct appeal marks the first time Astana has taken such a critical stance since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
How do we get out of this situation? Nobody knows, because there are positions of both sides. But, on the other hand, there is at this moment, this possibility of freezing everything. It's regrettable, young people are dying... All this must be stopped.
Tokayev added that he chose to voice his "modest opinion" precisely because people knew he would be in Omsk, signalling that the message was deliberate and intended for a wider audience.
A break from the ally script
Kazakhstan remains one of Russia's closest partners in Central Asia and has never endorsed Moscow's military offensive in Ukraine. Nonetheless, Tokayev's words at the Omsk summit go further than any previous public statement from Astana. The Kazakh leader remarked that the very origins of the war "are not entirely clear," drawing a contrast with the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict whose roots, he said, are transparent. This public ambiguity about the war's rationale, delivered in Putin's presence, constitutes a notable departure from the Kremlin's narrative.
In 2022, shortly after the invasion, Tokayev announced that Kazakhstan would never recognise the independence of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which Russia later claimed to annex. That position, reaffirmed by Saturday's appeal, underscores Astana's consistent refusal to endorse territorial changes achieved through force.
The Istanbul 2.0 framework
Tokayev proposed that the moment may have arrived to "freeze this conflict and return to the 'Istanbul Formula 2.0'," referencing the draft agreements discussed during the original 2022 negotiations. He stressed that any freeze should be implemented "with guarantees from the great powers, including Russia, so that we can move towards that long-awaited peace."
A subsequent US-mediated proposal tabled in Istanbul in May 2025 was never finalised, and its terms were rejected by Kyiv. By reviving the Istanbul label, Tokayev appeared to signal that a diplomatic track, however fragile, remains the only alternative to continued bloodshed.
- Tokayev declares Kazakhstan will never recognise the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk.
- A US-mediated Istanbul 2.0 proposal is tabled but never finalised; Kyiv rejects its terms.
- At the Omsk summit, Tokayev calls on Putin to freeze the conflict and return to the Istanbul framework.
Putin's response
Putin did not engage with the substance of the proposal on camera. He replied that he would brief Tokayev on the progress of the war during their private meeting. Moscow has repeatedly stated its intention to seize the remainder of eastern Ukraine by force, and diplomatic channels have been effectively frozen for months. The Kazakh leader's public appeal therefore lands in an environment where negotiations are stalled and the Kremlin shows no sign of altering its military objectives.
