June 20, 2024
JAKARTA – Indonesia calls for an effective, inclusive and balanced process to push for peace following its decision to not back a joint communiqué seeking to resolve the war in Ukraine adopted during a high-level world peace summit over the weekend.
Despite its reluctance to endorse the Ukraine peace plan, Jakarta asserts that it remains committed to upholding international law.
In the two-day summit held in Switzerland that ended on Sunday, world leaders of over 90 countries convened to mull over Ukraine’s plan to end its conflict with Russia, as the dispute passed its second-year mark.
The meeting produced a three-point joint communiqué, asserting against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, a guarantee that Ukraine’s exports of agricultural products remain unharmed and the complete exchange of all prisoners of war among both parties.
The meeting, however, was not attended by any Russian delegations.
Over 82 countries endorsed the peace plan. But several major countries, including Indonesia, which was represented by its ambassador to Switzerland, Ngurah Swajaya, opted against signing the joint communiqué.
“Indonesia believes that the dispute must be resolved through consultations and negotiations. We convey our primary perspective that conflict resolution must involve all conflicted parties,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat in a statement on Monday.
He added that Ngurah’s presence as “Indonesia’s special envoy” was a reflection of the country’s strong commitment to upholding international law and the United Nations charter.
“Indonesia considers that the joint communiqué could be more effective if it was drafted in an inclusive and balanced manner,” Roy continued.
India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Thailand were among the countries that opted against endorsing Ukraine’s plan, with most citing Russia’s absence as the primary stumbling block.
South Africa, which also refused to back the joint communiqué, said that its lack of support stemmed instead from the “surprise” that Israel was present and participating in the summit less than a week after a UN commission report found Tel Aviv guilty of committing crimes against humanity in its military operation in Gaza.
In his statement, Roy of the Foreign Ministry emphasized Indonesia’s call that “international law, including international humanitarian law and the UN Charter, must be upheld not just in Ukraine, but also in Gaza.”
As the joint communiqué received support from the majority of attendants, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the summit as a “success”, adding that he would be open to negotiating with Russia only when Moscow “leaves [the former’s] legal territories”.
The document endorsed in the Swiss meeting also reaffirmed the commitment to the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine, within their internationally recognized borders”.
Indonesia maintains diplomatic relations with both Russia and Ukraine. The Southeast Asian country has avoided much international pressure to boycott a specific party, including when it insisted on inviting Russia to attend the Group of 20 Summit in Bali in 2022.
But Indonesia has also signaled that it is not neutral in the conflict, as it voted in 2022 in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian territories.
At the time, the Foreign Ministry said Jakarta’s position on the matter was “very clear”.
“Our decision […] came from the principles that we hold, which is the respect for territorial integrity,” said then-Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah. “What happened [in Ukraine] directly opposes our Indonesian principles.”
Defense minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto reasserted Indonesia’s position during his meeting with Zelensky on the sideline of Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore on June 1.
Prabowo and Zelensky agreed on the need for the peace dialogue and a push for solutions for the war through diplomatic measures, according to a statement issued by the Defense Ministry the day after the meeting. They also agreed on the urgency of humanitarian aid and access to affected populations in the war zone of Ukraine and Gaza.