Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia and chairman of the G20, will go to Ukraine and Russia next wee...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia and chairman of the G20, will go to Ukraine and Russia next week to meet with his counterparts there and push for a peaceful end to their conflict, his foreign minister said on Wednesday. This will be the first time an Asian leader has made such a trip.
This year, the Ukraine war has overshadowed meetings of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies. Indonesia has been trying to bring its members together while resisting pressure from Western states that are threatening to skip a leaders' summit in November and want Russia to be left out.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that both of Jokowi's trips to Kyiv and Moscow would be "not normal." Jokowi is the name of Indonesia's president.
At a news conference, she said, "The president cares about the humanitarian crisis and will try to help with the food crisis caused by the war and the effects it has on all countries, but especially the developing and low-income ones."
"And he'll keep working for a peaceful spirit."
The fighting in the area has been going on for months now. It started in February when Russia invaded Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation."
The conflict has messed up supply chains in a big way, leading to a food and energy crisis that has sent inflation soaring in many countries. To make sure they have enough food and energy, some countries have even put limits on exports.
Jokowi will meet with both the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Both have been invited to the G20 summit on the island of Bali.
Retno didn't say much about what Jokowi would talk about at the talks, which would happen after the G7 Summit in Germany and bilateral meetings with leaders of those countries and others.
When asked for more information, Jokowi's office didn't answer right away.
Retno said that the president would talk about food security issues at these meetings in Germany. He would also talk about how important Russia and Ukraine are to the world when it comes to natural gas, oil, wheat, and barley.
"At the moment, things are very complicated. The world will be affected by the war's continuation in ways like food, energy, and financial crises "She also said that as G20 chairman, Jokowi had recently talked to the heads of the UN, Germany, and Turkey.
"We've decided not to use'megaphone diplomacy,'" she said, "so that big things can be done for the world."
