Indonesia’s Jokowi met Putin and Zelensky to try to end war and reduce global food crisis. What did he achieve? Or was it Russian propaganda bonanza?

Name: Indonesian president visits Ukraine on peace mission, offers to deliver message to Putin
Uploaded: 2022-07-01T11:40:12.000Z
Duration: 2 min 22 s
Description: Indonesian president visits Ukraine on peace mission, offers to deliver message to Putin

President Widodo’s ‘peace mission’ to Moscow and Kyiv, the first visit by Asian leader since war began, shows nation’s foreign policy, analysts say

But they also wonder if Indonesia is ‘naive’ in being ‘willing’ to be ‘toyed’ with by the Kremlin and if Widodo’s trip was to help cement his personal legacy

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indonesian President Joko Widodo shake hands after their meeting in Moscow on Thursday. Photo: AP

Resty Woro Yuniar

Published: 7:40pm, 1 Jul 2022Updated: 9:13pm, 1 Jul 2022

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s “peace mission” to Moscow and Kyiv to try to halt Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and fend off further global food crises is being seen by analysts as showcasing Indonesia’s foreign policy efforts while possibly presenting the Kremlin with more propaganda fodder.

Widodo claimed Russian leader Vladimir Putin, during their Thursday meeting, gave him “guarantees” on the safe shipping of food and fertiliser via sea routes “not only from Russia but also from Ukraine,” according to the Kremlin’s official readout.

The Indonesian president also said he gave a message from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to Putin and said he “was ready to help establish contact between the two leaders’’ to ensure a move towards “a peace settlement and an open dialogue”.

Neither side elaborated on the message’s content. Widodo met Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday, becoming the first Asian leader to visit Ukraine since the war began in February.

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Indonesian president visits Ukraine on peace mission, offers to deliver message to Putin

“In conclusion, I want to say that Indonesia has no other interest than a desire for the war to end as soon as possible and for food, fertiliser and energy supply chains to be restored immediately because this is affecting the lives of hundreds of millions and even billions of people,” Widodo said during a joint press conference with Putin.

Putin said the dialogue with his Indonesian counterpart was “quite substantive”. He again blamed Western-led sanctions as the main reason behind the global food and agricultural crisis, adding that Russia would this year increase its grain harvest exports to 50 million tonnes, from last year’s 43 million, and is “ready to fully meet the demand of agricultural producers in Indonesia and other friendly countries”.

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