Jokowi offers to be bridge between Putin and Zelensky

Indonesian President delivers a message from his Ukraine counterpart to Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow.

Joko Widodo and Vladimir Putin shake on it in the Kremlin on Thursday. Picture: AFP

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has delivered a message from Ukraine counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow in which the Russian leader guaranteed safe passage of food and fertilisers from the warring nations in order to avert a global food crisis.

After the meeting, Jokowi thanked Mr Putin for his assurances in a joint news conference overnight Thursday at which he confirmed he had passed on messages relayed by the Ukrainian leader during his visit a day earlier to Kyiv, the first by an Asian leader.

“I have conveyed President Zelensky’s message to President Putin and I conveyed my readiness to be a communication bridge between the two leaders,” the current G20 chairman said. “I really appreciate President Putin who said earlier that he would provide security guarantees for food and fertiliser supplies both from Russia and from Ukraine. This is good news for the sake of humanity.

“Food and fertilisers are a humanitarian issue … and hundreds of millions of people have been affected by disruptions of the food and fertiliser supply chains – particularly in developing nations.”

Jokowi said he supported UN efforts to reintegrate Russian and Ukrainian food and fertiliser exports into the world supply chain.

The Indonesian leader has been in Europe for the past week, starting his trip in Germany for the G7 meeting, on a “mission” to stabilise global food supplies amid fears that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could cause devastating shortages, and even famine, in poor and developing nations.

Russia and Ukraine are top suppliers of wheat and vegetable oils to the global market, while Russia is also an exporter of fertilisers.

Mr Putin said the two leaders discussed in a “businesslike manner” trade and economic co-operation, as well as “the issues that are of interest to the entire world today … deliveries of food and other agricultural products, including mineral fertilisers, to world markets”.

Russia was ready to “fully meet the demand of agricultural producers in Indonesia and other friendly countries for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium fertilisers and raw materials for their production” as well as the global demand for wheat and grains and considered it “vital to restore the supply chains disrupted by sanctions”. “I would like to note at once that we have no restrictions for fertiliser export. The same pertains to foods.”

Mr Putin blamed Western sanctions on Russian ports for the current food shortages, as well as the “irresponsible macroeconomic policy of some states”. Australia, the US, UK and other Western nations have imposed hundreds of targeted sanctions on Russian businesses and leaders since its February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

“We emphasised more than once that the imbalance of the world food markets is a direct consequence of the longstanding irresponsible macro­economic policy of some states, uncontrolled issuance and the ­accumulation of unsecured debt. The coronavirus pandemic further aggravated the situation,” he said.

“However, instead of admitting that their economic policies were misguided, the Western countries are further destabilising global agricultural production by imposing restrictions on Russian and Belarusian fertiliser supplies, impeding exports of Russian grain to world markets.”

Indonesia and Russia would now “co-ordinate their positions in the UN and other international organisations, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that Indonesia will chair next year”, he said.

Jokowi has resisted Western pressure to disinvite Mr Putin from the G20 summit in Bali in November, seeking a compromise by inviting Mr Zelensky, despite Ukraine not being a G20 member, in the hope of averting a boycott. Both leaders have confirmed they will attend, though Mr Zelensky has indicated he will do so virtually. It has not been determined whether Mr Putin will attend in person.

Jokowi insisted there were no ulterior motives for his peace mission, though Mr Putin revealed they had discussed Russian investment in the Indonesian leader’s pet project, the new capital city Nusantara in east Kalimantan

“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,” he said.