Kazakh president urges Russian counterpart to ‘freeze’ Ukraine conflict, return to ‘Istanbul Formula 2.0’

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Saturday met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Omsk, urging him to “freeze” the Ukraine conflict and return to the “Istanbul Formula 2.0,” where “significant results were achieved.”

Tokayev said Kazakhstan was not an outsider to the conflict but would not seek to play a mediator role, expressing confidence that “a great country,” Russia, would resolve issues on its own.

“Perhaps this conflict should be frozen, and we should return to the Istanbul Formula 2.0, since significant results were achieved there,” Tokayev said. “Then, naturally, under guarantees from the major powers, including Russia, we can move toward the long-awaited peace.”

Tokayev said he had received numerous signals from Europe and the United States regarding the conflict, which he described as an interstate war.

He also praised what he called Putin’s “maximum diplomatic flexibility” during the summit in Anchorage, Alaska.