Indonesia hopes Russia-Ukraine conflict will end soon

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: The Indonesian government is hoping that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will end soon so that the world can finally be at peace again, chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly Bambang Soesatyo has said.

“As a friend, Indonesia hopes that the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict can end soon, and the world can recover,” he remarked, according to a written statement received here on Thursday.

He made the remarks while receiving a visit from the chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko at his office here on Thursday.

He said that resolving the conflict between the two countries is necessary so that it can assist in global recovery, as the world is still suffering from a post-COVID-19 recession. During the meeting, he also commended Russia’s readiness to negotiate with Ukraine.

In accordance with the principle of its free and active foreign policy, Indonesia never sides with warring parties, but always chooses world peace, he added.

Likewise, in responding to the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict, Indonesia has always reminded its two allied countries about the importance of fair dialogue so that the conflict can cease as soon as possible.

“Not only for the good of the people of Russia and Ukraine, but also for the good of everyone in the world,” he added.

He also revealed what Matvienko said during the meeting. He said that Matvienko deemed Indonesia’s position for Russia as very important as it is considered a key partner for Russia in the Asia Pacific region.

Russia was also one of the first countries to recognize Indonesia’s independence, he said.

He explained that Indonesia has enjoyed close relations with Russia since 1956, as evidenced by the existence of the Nusantara Building in the Parliament Complex, Senayan area, Jakarta, which was built based on first Indonesian President Soekarno’s idea of holding a Conference of the New Emerging Forces (Conefo).

Russia, which, at that time, was still the Soviet Union, was one of the countries that supported the idea of forming the New Emerging Forces initiated by Soekarno.

“The existence of the Bung Karno Stadium complex cannot be separated from the role of (former) President of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, who sent engineers and technicians from the Soviet Union to help design and build the Bung Karno Stadium,” he said.

Further, Russia is a potential market as well as a major trading partner for Indonesia. The two countries are targeting to boost bilateral trade to US$5 billion by improving the Strategic Partnership Status.

While in the past five years, palm oil has dominated Indonesia’s exports to Russia at 33 percent, Soesatyo listed some Indonesian commodities that have the potential to be exported to Russia, including coffee, tea, spices, and tropical fruits.

“The market share of Indonesian palm oil in Russia reaches 93 percent of Russia’s total palm oil imports in 2020, or 863 thousand tons, with a value of US$656 million,” he said.