JAKARTA, April 16 (Jakarta Post/ANN): The Russian-Ukranian war has become increasingly difficult for Indonesia's Group of 20 (G-20) presidency to ignore, as the country faces renewed calls to invite Ukraine to the November summit in Bali - if it was insisting on Russia's attendance.
The topic was broached during Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly's visit to Jakarta on Monday (April 11), when she said she would "not be sitting with Lavrov at the same table" at the G-20 summit, referring to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an echo of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sentiment as expressed on March 31.
Canada understood that Indonesia was in a "tough position", she said, because it did not want issues over the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine to hijack discussions on other items on the G-20 agenda.
Later on Monday during a discussion hosted by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia, Ms Joly said she had met with President Joko Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi for the express aim of discussing ways that Indonesia could deal with the Russian-Ukrainian war during its G-20 presidency.
Joly also raised various bilateral issues during her visit, the first on her tour of Asia since she was appointed foreign minister in October last year.
"I think that Ukraine should be invited. I think (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky's message has resonated around the world. His communications have also been very impactful, and that impact needs to be continued in time," Joly added.
The idea to invite Ukraine to the G-20 summit was first floated by United States President Joe Biden, who said the country should be allowed to attend if Russia was still invited.
The forum grouping of the world's largest economies has served as a multilateral problem-solving platform, and its membership includes nations that have been reluctant to condemn Russia's actions.
The US and Canada, as well as other members of the Group of 7 industrialised economies, a subset within the G-20, have sought to punish Russia in as many ways as possible following its invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24, which Mr Biden has equated to genocide.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said earlier that the ministry would continue to consult "with all relevant stakeholders", including other G-20 member states, to ensure that the summit would proceed despite calls for a boycott.
Teuku also said Indonesia was still mulling over whether to invite Ukraine to November's summit.
"This is something that is still being discussed internally by the government," he told a press conference last week.
Government sources previously indicated that G-20 members were split in their stance on the Ukraine issue.
Separately, Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobieva said the US and Canada's proposal to invite Ukraine to the summit would not bring any "added value".
Vorobieva said on Tuesday: "There is no need to draw attention from economic issues to a political crisis which is not related to the agenda of the G-20 forum."
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Embassy in Jakarta stated that the "Ukrainian side will accept such an invitation" from host Indonesia.
The two warring sides also continued their efforts to lobby the Indonesian government over the matter. On Monday, Ukrainian representatives made a courtesy call to members of House of Representatives Commission I, which oversees foreign policy. The following day, the Commission received a courtesy visit from Russian representatives.
House Commission I member Bobby Adhityo Rizaldi of the Golkar Party faction, who was present on both occasions, said on Tuesday that the lawmakers were briefed by both the Ukrainian and the Russian ambassadors.
In response, the Commission had reiterated Indonesia's official stance.
"To both ambassadors, Indonesia expressed its condolences (for the humanitarian situation) and asked them to stop the war and prioritise dialogue to resolve the conflict," Bobby said.
On the growing pressure on Indonesia to invite Ukraine to the G-20 summit, Bobby said a decision on the matter would depend on a consensus among all members of the forum.
"Inviting Ukraine is not a call for Indonesia to make on its own. Our presidency shall follow all the regulations and consider the precedents at previous G-20 events," he said.
Commission I member Sukamta, of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction, said the government should continue trying to ensure the success of the G-20 summit. - Jakarta Post/ANN
"If what we need for everyone to attend is to invite Ukraine, then that could be a good step" he said, expressing hope that the war would end before the November summit. - The Straits Times/ANN
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