Ukraine backs Kazakhstan's proposal to freeze war and return to talks
Photo: Acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine supports Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's call for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to freeze the war, according to Acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
"We appreciate President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's telling Putin it is time to stop the war. A realistic, timely, and wise message," Sybiha said.
He recalled that Ukraine had proposed stopping the war along the current front line and moving to diplomacy, but the Kremlin continues to reject this clear path to peace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has already rejected the Kazakh president's proposal.
"The bottom line: Moscow must feel more pressure before it accepts realistic peace proposals," Ukraine's foreign minister said.
What did Tokayev say
On July 25, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed during a personal meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin that the war against Ukraine be frozen and that the sides return to the framework of the 2022 Istanbul negotiations.
At the same time, Tokayev echoed some elements of Moscow's rhetoric. In particular, he referred to Ukrainians and Russians as "brotherly peoples" and said that the ongoing war "plays into the hands of Russia's adversaries."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had responded to the Kazakh president's proposal to freeze the war in Ukraine. According to Peskov, this is impossible until Russia achieves its goals.
He added that the war could end even today if Ukraine makes certain decisions.
