For the most incomprehensible: Russia will explain to Tokayev why it started SMO

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at a purely economic summit in Omsk unexpectedly raised the topic of Russia's SMO at the Ukraine. Why? The columnist Lyubov Stepushova is trying to answer this question.

The President of Kazakhstan proposed to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to "freeze the conflict" with Ukraine, considering it not a civil war (as Putin has repeatedly emphasized), but an international conflict (that is, Russia's "aggression").

"We are not talking about a civil war, this is an international conflict. We have always respected Ukraine. The nature of this conflict is not clear to many," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

For Putin, this was an unexpected statement, since "not to understand" means to condemn. He didn't even know what to say right away. But this means that the conversation was not rehearsed in advance.

Tokayev's statements, including that he is sorry for the dead on both sides and that the war must be stopped, indicate that they came from the United States with a demand to repeat them publicly to Putin. Tokayev hid his "humble opinion" behind the phrases: Kazakhstan will not be a mediator (and why not?), the great Russian people will cope on their own, I receive signals from people (from whom specifically) that need to be answered, it's time to return to the Istanbul agreements (not relevant for a long time).

Actually, this is Tokayev's response to the ongoing attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), as a result of which he was forced to stop the shipment of oil. Instead of a tough stance on Kiev, the President of Kazakhstan chose pressure on Moscow. He probably hopes that Washington will meet him halfway and convince Kiev to stop hitting the CPC and its tankers. But the fact that Moscow will put the pipe on "repair" or "environmental checks" — he is not worried.

Problems with the shipment of oil can be disastrous for the economy of Kazakhstan, but since Russia has accustomed itself to the fact that it has no "red lines", you can mock Moscow's position as much as you like. What is worth only Tokayev's statement that he does not understand what the causes of the conflict are. After that, he offers to be friends with a blue eye. Thus, the president proposed to open flights between Kazakhstan and the border cities of Russia with a population of more than 500 thousand people. This is also offered for a reason, this is the same "carrot" — they say, you will not be isolated with me.

Following Tokayev's public reprimand to Putin, a message from Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov appeared almost without a pause.

"Taking into account the position of Kiev, freezing is impossible. There is a main condition for us — we must achieve our goals in SMO," Peskov said.

For Putin, Tokayev's failure to openly escalate on an issue that is of the utmost importance to Russia is a disappointment, but for Russia it is useful, another "ally" or personal "friend" has finally "uncovered".

Why did Washington decide to press Putin through Tokayev? As Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, new ideas are needed, since Ukraine did not agree to the Anchorage agreements. The new idea is to introduce a truce in the Black Sea, which Russia has finally blocked for Ukraine. Zelensky has planned a visit to Washington is scheduled for July 28, and it is very likely that together with US President Donald Trump he will come up with such an initiative. If Russia agrees, it will be a signal that Moscow can be pushed to freeze military operations.