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. “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”. He said that instead of “admitting” their economic policies were “misguided”, Western countries were “further destabilising global agricultural production by imposing restrictions on Russian and Belarusian fertiliser supplies, impeding exports of Russian grain to world markets, and complicating the insurance of ships with grain and bank payments under trade contracts”. Putin also said he had informed Widodo in detail about “developments in Ukraine” but did not elaborate. The Kremlin chief gave a nod to Indonesia’s status as the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation , saying Russia hopes to develop “inter regional and inter-religious dialogue” with the Southeast Asian country. A delegation from Russia’s Muslim regions recently visited Jakarta for the “first time in history”, Putin said. The group met Indonesia’s top Muslim scholar, politician Din Syamsuddin, a former chairman of Muhamaddiyah, a major Islamic NGO, and they talked about expanding cooperation between Muslim businesses in the two countries. Russia is also interested in taking part in infrastructure building in Indonesia’s planned new capital in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, and in resuming direct flights between Moscow and the resort island of Bali. However, Putin stopped short of affirming he will guarantee safe shipment for Ukraine’s wheat and other agricultural exports. Kremlin propaganda fodder? Radityo Dharmaputra, a PhD political science researcher in Estonia, said Putin’s remarks underlined the Kremlin’s intention to use Widodo’s visit to tell the world that Russia “still has a standing in international politics” despite the West’s sanctions. The Russian Muslim delegation’s visit to Indonesia gave the Kremlin “a momentum to build its image as a Muslim-friendly nation, particularly towards Indonesian Muslims”, he said, which was important “as many in Indonesia have been more sympathetic towards Russia since the war”. He also said the strong anti-West sentiment among Indonesian Muslims is also one of the reasons behind their support for Russia. Radityo viewed the results of Widodo’s “peace mission” as somewhat mixed as it remains to be seen whether Ukraine’s agricultural exports will be reintegrated into the global supply chain and arrive in Indonesia. “If the mission is to open a line of communication with Putin, since this is his first visit to Moscow, then, yes, it’s a successful trip. From the bilateral relationship’s point of view, Jakarta’s also managed to secure a visa-free agreement with Ukraine,” he said, referring to a deal allowing Ukrainians visa-free travel to Indonesia for up to 30 days per visit, and vice versa. “But if the ultimate goal is to broker peace, then this is not a successful mission.” Putin slams Johnson’s woman remarks, points to Thatcher’s Falklands war Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer in the School of Government at Indonesia’s Jenderal Achmad Yani University, said Putin used Widodo’s trip for public relations material. “Indonesia still wants to deal with Russia even when they are isolated by the West, while on our side, we are still not sure what kind of benefits we are gaining. If Russia does invest in Indonesia, it means that Indonesian banks should prepare to face sanctions from the United States since they would receive Russian money,” he said. He wondered if Indonesia was “too naive” in being “willing” to be “toyed” with by the Kremlin in such a way. “Or are we just wanting to show the world that we at least tried to broker peace [between Kyiv and Moscow]?” Russia fights to encircle Ukraine’s last eastern stronghold Collin Koh, a research fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore, said Widodo’s peace mission had not entirely failed. It would “burnish Indonesia’s ‘activist’ foreign policy approach” and “cement Widodo’s personal legacy”, he said. “[But] it’s likely that beyond the diplomatic niceties of both Kyiv and Moscow acknowledging Jakarta’s good intentions, they might have felt that Indonesia’s sudden intervention with this ‘peace mission’ might be somewhat out of place.” A secure legacy? It is also likely that Widodo’s final goal in attending the G7 Summit in Germany (Indonesia is not a G7 member but was invited to attend) then visiting Kyiv and Moscow was to help cement his personal legacy. Foreign policy experts say a smooth G20 summit in Bali in November will be seen as the ultimate achievement in Widodo’s 10 year leadership. “The scale of G20 itself is already an important factor to consider; if it flops because of the Ukraine war, even from a pure optics perspective, it would have left a poor aftertaste, if not a blemish, on Widodo’s legacy as the country’s president who happens to be presiding (over) Indonesia’s presidency of the grouping,” Koh said. G20 boycott over Putin would leave floor to Russia and China, UK PM warns There are also clear political imperatives behind Widodo’s trip to Munich, Kyiv and Moscow. Recent domestic developments including the rising cost of cooking oil and fuel, the sacking of his trade minister, a short-lived ban on palm oil exports and declining approval ratings may have forced Widodo to try and nip the food crisis in the bud to prevent a larger social conflict brewing at home. Prices of staple goods “are always sensitive issues to many Indonesians” so any Indonesian leader will be “worried and anxious if prices are unstable”, said Andrew Mantong, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia. He said protests about the rising prices of staple goods could impact on leaders’ ability to stay in office and therefore spook them. What is Indonesia’s Jokowi hoping to achieve when he meets Putin in Moscow? Koh said Widodo’s trip overseas was far from pointless. “The government is not only trying to enact measures at home to alleviate those economic pressures, but also being active on the external front to address the problem,” he said. “Regardless of the outcome, Indonesia would have burnished its credentials as an active Southeast Asian country that is exercising regional and international leadership in some ways to help defuse problems.”