By: Muhammad Zaki)*
Indonesia is neutral in the midst of pressure from western countries to reject the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit. This firm attitude shows Indonesia’s sovereignty which does not want to be dictated by other countries.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine seems to have been flicked in the G20 forum. In this case, Indonesia shows a neutral attitude towards the events experienced by the two countries. This was appreciated by the Professor of International Law at the University of Indonesia, Hikmahanto Juwana. According to him, this neutral attitude is in line with the principle of a free and active foreign policy promoted by Indonesia.
Apart from that, Indonesia also focuses on efforts to recover the global economy, which is a priority for the world’s population in the agenda of the G20 Presidency in Bali which will take place in October – November 2022. To that end, Indonesia also invites all members present to focus on that goal.
In his statement, Hikmahanto said Indonesia insisted that all members of the G20, including Russia, be invited to the summit in Bali. Where Indonesia’s position shows that it does not want to be dictated and even pressured by the US. Hikmahanto said, Indonesia argued that all members had the right to be invited according to the procedures in the G20 and according to existing precedents.
This means that Indonesia also implies not to consider the proposal of the President of the United States (US) which asks representatives of Ukraine to attend if Russia will attend. This is because there are no G20 procedures and rules. The challenge for Indonesia as the current host is to ensure that all heads of state of the G20 members are present in Bali.
Indonesia certainly needs to ensure that there are no mutual boycott efforts by G20 member countries in discussing various programs that are currently taking place, including the summit event.
Hikmahanto said, Indonesia needs to seek peace and a ceasefire in Ukraine. According to him, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must move quickly and come up with initiatives for the realization of peace and an end to the humanitarian tragedy caused by war. This needs to be done for the successful implementation of various G20 activities and summits in Bali.
On a different occasion, Riza Noer Arfani as an expert on world economic trade and international politics at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), said that Indonesia could be a negotiator for a settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
Moreover, it is clearly written in the preamble of the 1945 Constitution, which states that Indonesia has a commitment to maintain world peace and order. Riza considered that what was stated by President Joko Widodo who asked for the conflict to be stopped immediately, needed to be followed up by bringing the conflicting countries together at the negotiating table.
Riza said, as Chair of the G20 this period, Indonesia could invite Turkey, China, Russia to sit down together to discuss the progress of economic goodness if the conflict dragged on. In addition, he also assessed that Indonesia could take advantage of its closeness with China or Russia to seek a ceasefire and put both of them at the negotiating table.
Riza also assessed that if the conflict between the two continued to drag on, global geopolitical and geoeconomic conditions could be seriously affected. Indonesia certainly does not stop trying to give confidence that peace is the best thing. Indonesia also asked Russia and Ukraine to avoid escalation and resolve conflicts at the negotiating table.
On the occasion of the UN General Assembly earlier this week, Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations Arrmanatha Nasir said that the situation in Ukraine had damaged the peace order in Eastern Europe. He stressed that military action in Ukraine is unacceptable.
Military actions in Ukraine risk the lives of civilians and threaten regional and global peace and stability. Therefore, Indonesia is pushing for peace to be immediately restored in Ukraine. Indonesia has called on all parties to ensure a peaceful solution through dialogue and diplomacy.
Indonesia also asks all countries to respect the objectives and principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
We need to know that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused more than 1 million Ukrainians to have fled to neighboring countries in the west to save themselves.
Indonesia really needs to be neutral about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In addition to reflecting Indonesia’s political stance, Indonesia’s impartiality is a form of Indonesia’s independence which does not want other countries to intervene.
)* The author is a contributor to the Press Circle and Cikini Students
