Why Indonesia’s Prabowo is in Russia – and what he needs from Putin

The visit aims to secure discounted crude as global prices soar, even as Jakarta holds high-level defence talks with Washington

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Listen

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Kremlin in Moscow on Monday. Photo: AP

Published: 2:04pm, 14 Apr 2026Updated: 2:54pm, 14 Apr 2026

With millions of Indonesians at risk of being pushed into poverty amid a deepening global energy crisis, President Prabowo Subianto arrived in Moscow this week seeking something straightforward but increasingly scarce: cheap oil.

Prabowo’s trip, which got under way on Monday, comes at a moment of acute regional anxiety. Global oil prices have skyrocketed since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran more than six weeks ago amid the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The crisis deepened further on Monday when Washington began blockading the waterway, through which around 25 per cent of world seaborne oil trade transits – 80 per cent of it destined for Asia, according to the International Energy Agency.

“With the Middle East’s energy resources bottled up by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Indonesia is desperate to secure alternative supplies of crude oil – and Russia has plenty for sale,” said security analyst Ian Storey, a principal fellow at the Singapore-based ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

Motorcyclists queue to fill their tanks with fuel at a petrol station in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Prabowo is also expected to discuss food security and civilian nuclear technology while in Moscow, as Russia is a major supplier of agricultural fertilisers to Indonesia and has decades of experience exporting nuclear power plant technology – making it a natural partner for a country seeking to stabilise food and electricity prices.

Why Indonesia’s Prabowo is in Russia – and what he needs from Putin

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The visit aims to secure discounted crude as global prices soar, even as Jakarta holds high-level defence talks with Washington

The visit aims to secure discounted crude as global prices soar, even as Jakarta holds high-level defence talks with Washington