Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi’s) visit to Ukraine and Russia, as countries at war, emphasized Indonesia’s free and active foreign policy stance, Nusa Cendana University (Undana) Kupang international law observer Dr D. W. Tadeus stated.
“Indonesia has reaffirmed its standing in response to the Russia-Ukraine war. The principle of a free and active foreign policy was applied during Jokowi’s visit to meet the leaders of the two warring countries,” Tadeu stated in Kupang, E Nusa Tenggara Province, contacted here on Thursday.
Tadeus made the statement following President Jokowi’s visit to meet with the two warring presidents, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said Jokowi’s visit to the two countries demonstrated that Indonesia is free to make political decisions in responding to the military conflict.
It means that Indonesia is free to determine its stance to visit the two countries without having to side with the United States and its allies or side with Russia.
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“If Jokowi only visits Ukraine, then it can be considered to be an intervention to our free and active political stance to support one of the warring parties,” he pointed out.
“Hence, the visit to these two countries shows that Indonesia does not have to follow the will of the United States to side with them. We have different outlooks, so (Indonesia) cannot be underestimated by the world,” he stated.
Tadeus noted that since Ukraine and Russia still consider Indonesia as a friend, so it is easy for it to take on the role of trying to reconcile the two sides.
“This outlook is what the world community has been waiting for with the hope that conflicts will subside, so that the threat of global energy, food, and other crises can be resolved,” he stated.
He noted that if conflicts between the two countries could subside in future, then Indonesia would also make history, as it has contributed to creating world peace, thereby carrying forward what was pioneered by Indonesia’s first president, Soekarno (Bung Karno).
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