Indonesian president to meet Zelensky and Putin to urge peace talks

By: 3 years ago

Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks during the US- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Special Summit, in Washington DC May 12, 2022. AFP FILE PHOTO

JAKARTA — Indonesian President and G20 chairman Joko Widodo set off on Sunday to Europe where he said he plans to visit Russia and Ukraine and meet with the countries’ leaders to urge peace talks.

Widodo departed for Germany to attend as a guest for the G7 summit from June 26 to 27, and he will then go to the Ukraine capital Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“The mission is to ask… President Zelensky to open a dialogue forum for peace, to build peace because the war has to be stopped,” he told a press conference in Jakarta.

The two leaders will also discuss the food supply chain “that needs to be reactivated” soon, Widodo said. From Kyiv, Widodo is scheduled to visit Moscow and meet with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The visit to Moscow is planned for June 30, Indonesian authorities said earlier.

“With the same mission, I will ask President Putin to open a dialogue and to immediately have a ceasefire and to stop the war,” he said. Earlier in April Widodo announced he had called Zelensky and invited him to join world leaders at G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022 as a guest.

Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and has been pressured by Western countries, led by the United States, to exclude Russia from the meeting.

Widodo, however, did not rescind the invitation to Russia and said that Putin has expressed his intention to attend the November summit.

Indonesia, like most major emerging economies, has tried to maintain a neutral position and has called for a peaceful resolution to the months-long conflict.

Widodo refused to send weapons to Ukraine in response to a request from Zelensky, instead offering humanitarian aid.

After concluding the European visit, Widodo will head to the United Arab Emirates before returning to Indonesia.