Tensions have run high since Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to recognize two breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine and ordered Russian troops to guard them, a move roundly condemned by Western powers and prompted Kyiv to demand sanctions against Moscow.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said Russia’s move amounted to “a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine”, as he urged restraint and the cessation of hostilities to prevent another escalation, according to a statement from a UN spokesperson.

Indonesia joined the bandwagon on Tuesday in support of the UN secretary-general’s views, with Jokowi tweeting that the Ukraine crisis “must be dealt with carefully so that humanity can be spared from a major catastrophe”.

“Peace efforts have to be made swiftly and without delay,” the President said on his official Twitter account.

Jokowi previously spoke to rising geopolitical tensions at a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Jakarta last week, in which he argued that now was “not the time to start a rivalry and new tensions that disrupt global recovery” from COVID-19.

As the President of the G20 this year, he told finance authorities that the world should be focused on “creating synergy and collaboration” rather than geopolitics.

But the diverse membership of the G20, comprising the United States and its allies but also rivals China and Russia, is expected to complicate policy coordination within the forum of the world’s biggest economies.

“Rivalry and tensions in Ukraine have to stop immediately. All relevant actors must show restraint, and all of us have to contribute to peace. War must not break out,” Jokowi said in a tweet on Monday, after Russia’s announcement.

Respect for international law

Moscow’s military presence in Ukraine’s Donbas region looks likely to lead to one of the deepest crises in East-West relations for decades, impacting markets and adding more burden to a battered global economy.

The Russian recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent republics effectively puts an end to an already shaky peace plan in the separatist conflict, which has rumbled on since 2014, after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, AFP reports.

Brokered by de facto European leaders France and Germany, the ceasefire deal known as the Minsk Agreements sought to halt a simmering conflict involving pro-Russian separatists, but was never fully implemented.

European Union foreign ministers planned to announce sanctions against Russia, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters on Tuesday, as the text of the possible measures was being prepared while ministers attended a forum with Indo-Pacific partners in Paris.

However, both the EU and the US, which is preparing its own punitive measures after weeks of accusing Moscow of scheming, have held off describing Russia’s deployment as an invasion that would otherwise trigger the harshest threat of sanctions under international law.

In her own remarks at the ASEAN-EU conference on Indo-Pacific cooperation in Paris, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi repeatedly underscored the importance of “respect for international law”, albeit without directly mentioning either Russia or the Ukrainian crisis.

Retno spoke to the EU’s plan to expand engagement in the Indo-Pacific, the latest in a race to wield influence in a globally important region that analysts say is already being carved out by a Cold War-like US-China rivalry.

“For Indonesia, the Indo-Pacific is a sea of opportunities, and it is too large for any single country to dominate,” she told EU ministers, according to a readout of her speech.

“Competition in the Indo-Pacific is inevitable and even welcome. However, we must avoid such competition from becoming an open conflict.”

Other participants of the conference put special emphasis on condemning Russia.

Beyond representing ASEAN’s concern for excessive competition, Indonesia is also paying “close attention” to developments in Ukraine on grounds of citizen protection.

“There is one Indonesian residing in Severedonetsk, Luhansk, who is married to a foreigner. The Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv has established contact with the person in question, but they have decided to remain in Luhansk,” said Judha Nugraha, the Foreign Ministry’s director for citizen protections, on Tuesday.

“The embassy will continue to monitor them following the latest developments.”

The ministry has also come out with a travel warning for Ukraine and called on citizens based in the country to remain vigilant and stay in contact with embassy representatives in case of an emergency.