Amid the gloomy prospects, there is another perspective of President Jokowi’s initiative, which is to start a dialogue between the two leaders.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
AFP/MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Indonesia's President Joko Widodo at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 30, 2022. (Photo by Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik / AFP)
The Russia-Ukraine war that broke out in 24 Feb. 2022 occurred because of various complicated problems that are not easy to solve.
The world’s superpowers and even the United Nations (UN) have so far failed to solve the problems. With such a background, the initiative of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to visit Ukraine and Russia and to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Vladimir Putin was nerve-racking.
Not only regarding the risks of the visit, but also the potential outcome of the trips, namely the need to reconcile the two nations involved in the war.
Amid the gloomy prospects, there is another perspective of President Jokowi’s initiative, which is to start a dialogue between the two leaders. Jokowi’s initiative is different from most of the approaches made by Western leaders, who mostly stand behind Ukraine.
President Jokowi came to Kyiv and Moscow with a strong message: peace. The war has to be stopped so that the two countries can live side by side peacefully. President Jokowi also expressed his readiness to help start communication between the two leaders.
President Jokowi argued that if the war could not be stopped, the supply of fertilizer and wheat, both from Ukraine and Russia, for the world would be disrupted. If it happens, not only hundreds of million but billions of people in the world would be affected.
Russia also wants to maintain its position as the largest wheat exporter in the world.
The argument is supported by numbers. The UN in early May estimated that at least 22 million tons of wheat was stuck in Ukraine. According to President Zelensky, until the coming fall, undelivered stock could increase to more than 75 million tons. Conversely, President Putin emphasized that his party had never blocked the export of wheat from Ukraine, and even guaranteed the safety of its shipment. Russia also wants to maintain its position as the largest wheat exporter in the world.
We hope the productive talks between President Putin and President Jokowi will be followed by changes in the Russian policy on Ukraine.
BPMI SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed President Joko Widodo at the door of the Maryiinsky Palace, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday (29/6/2022), around 15:00 local time.
It is undeniable that the single figure that is decisive in ending the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is the Russian President. It is him who knows exactly the target he wants to achieve with the attack on Ukraine. He also knows how to end the war.
We are sure that by meeting President Jokowi, in addition to delivering the arguments and message of President Zelensky, the Russian leader will open his heart. With a prolonged war, more people will suffer and the world will be plunged into deeper problems.
If the Russian leader feels touched by President Jokowi's peace mission, there is a hope that the war can be gradually stopped. The world also should also learn lessons so that security concerns, after experiencing what has been done by Russia when Ukraine planned to become a member of the North Atlantic Defense Pact (NATO) that is aggressively trying to expand its membership, can be reconsidered.
(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)
