President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that he maintains “good relations” with Vladimir Putin and considers him an “outstanding statesman” as well as the “most acceptable political figure” to serve as Russia’s leader, both for Europe and for the entire world. Kazakhstan’s leader made the statement at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, UNN reports, citing DW.
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Commenting on Russia’s war against Ukraine, Tokayev stressed that he was not insisting on an immediate cessation of hostilities: “Under the current circumstances, that would be unrealistic. I spoke about freezing the hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, diplomacy, and negotiations.”
Tokayev said that Kazakhstan advocates peace and stability, noting at the same time that his country is interested in friendly relations with Russia for a number of reasons. “One cannot act rashly,” he said.
For his part, Friedrich Merz, responding to a question from a DW correspondent, said that Berlin and Kyiv’s other partners “clearly and unequivocally stand on Ukraine’s side.” The chancellor said that he was personally negotiating with world leaders on supplying air defense systems to Kyiv, and also expressed hope that Ukraine’s energy supply could be prepared for the winter in anticipation of continued Russian bombardments of civilian infrastructure.
“These are war crimes that are taking place every day,” Merz said.
The main topic of Tokayev’s two-day visit to Germany was the development of economic ties. Kazakhstan is Germany’s fourth-largest oil supplier after Norway, the United States, and Libya. Trade between the countries has nearly doubled over the past four years, reaching €8 billion.