“By proposing terms to end the war in Ukraine, Putin showed maximum flexibility,” – Tokayev said

By putting forward his proposals in August to end the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin “showed maximum flexibility.”

This was stated by Kazakhstan’s President Tokayev, The New York Times reports.

“We have to acknowledge that Putin showed maximum flexibility. I think Putin took quite a big step forward,” the outlet quotes Tokayev as saying.

According to the report, Tokayev is referring to Putin’s willingness to freeze the front line in exchange for the withdrawal of the AFU from all of Donbas (previously, Putin had also demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from all of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts).

At the same time, Tokayev said he is ready to host negotiations between Ukraine and Russia and believes the war can be brought to an end.

In his view, however, Putin will not further soften his territorial demands because he “must take public opinion” in Russia into account.

Earlier, the Kremlin stated that at his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska, Putin endorsed the concept for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine proposed by Trump’s special representative Steve Witkoff.

As a reminder, after meeting with Putin in Alaska, Trump said he no longer demands an immediate cease-fire along the front line, but instead advocates concluding a full-fledged peace agreement right away.