Kazakh president calls Russia 'invicible,' urges Ukraine peace talks

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during a visit from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday, stated that he views Russia as invincible and urged swift peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, according to reports from Kazakh news agencies.

On the second leg of his three-day trip to Central Asia, Scholz met Tokayev in the Kazakh capital Astana.

"A further escalation of the war will lead to irreparable consequences for all of humanity and first and foremost for all countries directly involved in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict," Tokayev said.

"It is a fact that Russia is invincible in military terms," he added.

According to Tokayev, there is still "a possibility of achieving peace."

He stated that all peace plans must be examined and hostilities must cease. The territorial issues could then be resolved.

Russia has now occupied around a fifth of Ukraine since it launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. However, Moscow is laying claim to further parts.

In the autumn of 2022, Putin annexed the regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya, although the Russian military only partially controls the regions.

Kiev is demanding the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory. Ukraine is being supported in its defence campaign by Western countries, including Germany.

During Scholz's visit, petroleum deliveries and an extension of bilateral relations were on the agenda.

The two countries struck a deal to extend and increase deliveries - currently amounting to 100,000 tons of crude oil per month - beyond the end of 2024.

Kazakhstan is Germany's third largest supplier of oil after Norway and the United States.

The country has enjoyed above-average economic growth in recent years, due in part to trade with its neighbours Russia and China.

However, it has also attracted criticism over violations of human rights, with freedom of the press and freedom of expression heavily restricted.