Kyiv welcomes Kazakh president's call to 'freeze' ongoing Russia-Ukraine war

Ukraine on Sunday welcomed Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's call to "freeze" the war Russia launched in 2022, with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha describing the suggestion as "realistic, timely, and wise."

"We appreciate President @TokayevKZ telling Putin it is time to stop the war. A realistic, timely, and wise message," Sybiha wrote on US social media platform X.

He said Ukraine proposed halting the fighting along the current front lines and turning to diplomacy, claiming that the Kremlin "continues to reject this clear path to peace."

"Putin's spokesman has already dismissed the Kazakh President's proposal as well," Sybiha added. "The bottom line: Moscow must feel more pressure before it accepts realistic peace proposals."

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tokayev held talks in the Russian city of Omsk, during which the latter proposed to "freeze" the war.

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

Later in the day, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tokayev's call to "freeze" the war is "impossible" given Kyiv's position.

He said Russia's conditions for a halt to hostilities are clear and the war could end "by the end of the day" if Ukraine makes the "appropriate decisions," referring to Moscow's demand for a Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donbas region, as well as Kyiv's abandonment of plans to join NATO.