“A bad peace is better than a good war.”
That was the advice from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call on Sunday in which the two leaders discussed prospects for a resolution to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Whether Zelenskyy agreed with Tokayev’s comment is open to question. In a readout of the conversation from the Ukrainian presidency, he used other adjectives to describe the kind of peace that Ukraine wants –“reliable” and “real.”
The talk happened ahead of a meeting in Alaska on Friday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine fears could leave it left out of deliberations and provide momentum for an end to the conflict on Russia’s terms.
Tokayev told Zelenskyy that Kazakhstan has advocated for a solution that adheres to the United Nations Charter and respects “the inviolability of the borders of sovereign states, and the territorial integrity of sovereign states.”
While that statement implies criticism of the current state of affairs, in which Russia occupies an estimated 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, Tokayev also appeared to suggest that Ukraine should be prepared to make difficult compromises over territory because its independence as a nation was on the line.
“In his view, given the current highly complex situation, it is essential to approach the resolution of the conflict with balance and reason, ensuring the preservation and protection of Ukraine’s statehood,” Kazakhstan’s presidential office said. “He stressed that all parties should be guided by the wisdom that ´a bad peace is better than a good war.´”
Tokayev stirred some debate last year when he said that Russia was too strong to be defeated on the battlefield. Critics interpreted the remark as defeatism in the face of Russian aggression, while others thought it was a blunt assessment of the war. Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries have tried to be neutral in the conflict, not endorsing the Russian invasion but maintaining traditional ties with Moscow.
The Ukrainian presidency said Zelenskyy, in remarks to Tokayev, “noted that attempts to partition any independent state are extremely dangerous for every nation. History has repeatedly shown that if such injustice is allowed against one state, it does not end there.”
While Zelenskyy has ruled out territorial concessions to Russia, a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in May and June explored the nuance of the topic in a population that is both defiant and weary after years of war. The results show that “the only option where there is at least room for discussion is de facto recognition of Russian control without de jure recognition,” according to the institute.
Zelenskyy invited Tokayev to visit Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian presidency. The Kazakh statement didn’t mention the invitation.
