It is probable that Vladimir Putin utilized his encounter with the President of Kazakhstan to legitimize his unwillingness to halt the front lines in Ukraine and to perpetuate the ongoing conflict.
This information is presented in a report by ISW, as conveyed by Ukrinform.
It is noted that Putin’s meeting with Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took place in Omsk during the Russian-Kazakhstan interregional cooperation forum. During their discussion, Tokayev remarked that many find the reasons behind Russia’s war in Ukraine difficult to comprehend, and he advocated for freezing the front line and resuming negotiations in the Istanbul format.
Putin did not offer a direct response to Tokayev in the public portion of their meeting. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin later elaborated to Tokayev on the war, asserting that freezing the front line is not feasible as the Russian Federation must “achieve its objectives on the battlefield.”
Peskov reiterated the Kremlin’s assertion that hostilities could cease “by the end of today” if Ukraine “makes appropriate decisions.”
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ISW analysts recall that Kremlin officials have consistently urged Ukraine to capitulate to Russia’s maximalist war demands. As the Kremlin has repeatedly emphasized, these demands encompass the entirety of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, even prior to any peace negotiations, which do not guarantee the attainment of a peace agreement.
“Putin has been confronted with declining approval ratings and trust, an increasingly challenging economic situation, and mounting casualties with minimal gains in Ukraine, while continuing to wage his war largely as he has since 2022. The Kremlin continues to signal to Russians that they must be prepared to bear the costs of a protracted war against Ukraine and likely used Putin’s meeting with Tokayev as a pretext to remind Russians of this,” the analysts observe.
As previously reported, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, proposed that Putin “freeze” the war in Ukraine with the assistance of world powers.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha referred to the Kazakh President’s appeal as a “realistic, timely, and wise statement” and stressed that Ukraine had proposed halting the war along the current front line and moving towards diplomacy. However, he noted that the Kremlin continues to reject this clear path to peace.