TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi highlighted the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine in her speech at a seminar today, October 11, 2022. She said the two nations have no desire to make peace albeit Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo or Jokowi had attempted to mediate them through visits to Kyiv and Moscow.

Retno also underlined the complexity of the war. According to her, Indonesia continues to try to build bridges from existing differences of opinion, including with the President’s visits a few months ago. Similar diplomatic efforts had also been made by the United Nations and Turkey.

“The results are not yet visible. Why? Because the intention for solving the problem is still very low. The two parties involved are still prioritizing a non-peace approach,” said Retno at the PPRA 64 National Resilience Institute or Lemhannas Seminar on Tuesday.

On Indonesia’s position, the minister emphasized that Indonesia encourages every country to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries and that any conflict must be resolved peacefully at the negotiating table, instead of on the battlefield.

“How long will the war last? When will it end? To be honest with you, we don't know when the war will end and as long as the war continues, the impact will be felt, especially by developing countries,” said Retno.

The war between Russia and Ukraine escalated earlier this week. Russia launched a large-scale airstrike including on the capital Kyiv days after a massive explosion occurred on the Russia-Crimea bridge.

DANIEL AHMAD

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