Tokayev calls on Ukraine and Russia for talks, offers Kazakhstan's mediation

NUR-SULTAN. March 1 (Interfax) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called on Ukraine and Russia to find common ground through negotiations.

"We call on both states to find common ground at the negotiating table and to reach an agreement and accord. There is no other option. A bad peace is better than a good quarrel," Tokayev said at a congress of the Nur Otan ruling party in the Kazakh capital on Tuesday.

Kazakhstan stands ready to mediate Russia-Ukraine talks should such a need arise, he said.

"Kazakhstan, for its part, is ready to provide any assistance, including its services as a mediator, of course, if there is a need for them," Tokayev said.

The Minsk Agreements for Donbas remained on paper, a circumstance that resulted in fighting in Ukraine, he said.

"The Minsk accords remained on paper, which led to fighting on the territory of Ukraine. The geopolitical situation has escalated in an unprecedented way, and now, most regrettably, it is possible to speak of the irreversibility of this tendency," Tokayev said.

Kazakhstan insists on the principle on the indivisibility of Eurasian security against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine, he said.

"Our position must be guided by the critical need to ensure the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state. As the country which hosted the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe summit in 2010, we insist on the principle of the indivisibility of Eurasian security. I said it during my visit to Moscow on February 10," Tokayev said when commenting on the situation in Ukraine.

"The principle of indivisible and common security envisions mutual understanding on the basis of mutual trust. Regrettably, it did not happen," he said.