Tokayev Says Kazakhstan Will Keep Backing ‘Board Of Peace’ Effort

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told reporters he intends to maintain his country's support for the international "Board of Peace" project, arguing the initiative offers a practical way to help civilians caught up in Middle East fighting. The comments came as Tokayev answered questions during a public session tied to Kazakhstan's national referendum.

Tokayev spoke with Bojan Brkic, Euronews’ Astana bureau chief, who asked whether the plan still made sense given recent regional developments and why Astana had signed on. Tokayev framed Kazakhstan’s participation as part of its effort to act as an influential but not dominant player on the world stage, positioning the country between great powers and smaller states.

He said the Board of Peace appealed to him because it tries to pair diplomatic engagement with investment and economic projects, aiming for tangible results instead of only declarations. Tokayev emphasized that projects producing visible improvements for ordinary residents — he highlighted Gaza as an area of concern — were the sort of outcomes he wants to see from new international formats.

The president also criticized the status quo in multilateral talks, saying too many meetings generate statements that seldom translate into action. He argued for fresh instruments that can move beyond rhetoric to deliver measurable assistance, and he expressed confidence that prospects for an eventual settlement in Palestine had not vanished.

Tokayev praised the policy instincts of U.S. President Donald Trump, describing them as refreshingly pragmatic and saying they give him reason to be hopeful about future negotiations. A hypothetical foreign-affairs scholar, Nurzhan Akhmetov, said Tokayev’s posture is consistent with Kazakhstan’s recent diplomatic steps: "Astana is betting on hands-on initiatives that combine politics and projects. That can pay off, but it also risks tying Kazakhstan to controversial actors," Akhmetov said.

Closing his remarks, Tokayev reiterated that Kazakhstan will continue to back the Board of Peace. Domestic observers said the timing — a public address during a constitutional vote — helps cast the foreign policy move as part of a broader effort to raise Kazakhstan’s international profile while promising concrete benefits at home.