Tokayev calls for end to Russia-Ukrain war — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and urged both sides to resume peace negotiations under the proposed “Istanbul 2.0” framework. Speaking alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Russia-Kazakhstan forum in the Siberian city of Omsk, Tokayev praised what he described as Putin’s “utmost diplomatic flexibility,” Reuters reported. Tokayev said a peace agreement could be reached if hostilities were halted and both sides returned to the negotiating table. “If I may offer my humble opinion, since I have been asked, perhaps it is time to freeze this conflict and return to the Istanbul 2.0 formula,” he said. The Kazakh president also said lasting peace would require security guarantees from major powers, including Russia, and stressed that the war must come to an end. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, said Putin had briefed Tokayev in detail on the current situation regarding Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. Peskov added that Moscow would stop its military operation only if Kyiv took what Russia considers necessary steps. Russia has continued to demand, as a condition for a peace deal, that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four regions claimed by Moscow and abandon its efforts to join NATO.