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Pundits laud Jokowi’s move to invite both Putin, Zelensky to G20 Summit in Bali
Indonesia has been under heavy pressure from the West to exclude Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, but Jakarta has argued it must remain "impartial".
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Indonesia has invited both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali, a move that analysts said could provide a “golden opportunity” for the host of the economic forum to play its role as a middle power.
Indonesia, which holds the G20 presidency this year, has been under heavy pressure from the West, led by the United States, to exclude Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, but Jakarta has argued it must remain "impartial".
The government has been mulling over a more grounded alternative by inviting Zelensky to the summit, in the hope this would appease proponents of Ukraine – a non-member of the G20 – and Russia and limit any distraction from the forum’s priority agenda items.
Fitriani, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that Indonesia’s invitation to Ukraine was a “brilliant move” as it provides opportunities for the latter to attend side meetings with other countries that are present.
“Thus Indonesia can kill two birds at once. First, by carrying out its free and active foreign policy and, second, Indonesia can escape the pressures of big pro-Ukrainian countries – especially the G7 nations,” Fitriani said on Wednesday.
Indonesia holds the presidency this year and will host a finance meeting in July followed by a leaders summit in November. Ukraine is not a member of the forum, but Russia is.
Read also: US frowns on Indonesia's invite to Putin for G20 summit
Dewi Fortuna Anwar, foreign policy expert and former vice presidential adviser, said Indonesia’s decision to invite both Putin and Zelensky to November’s summit could “hopefully ensure the unity of the G20 and its agenda” and provide a “golden opportunity” for Indonesia to play its role as middle power without putting extra effort.
“Jokowi [President Joko Widodo] doesn’t need to fly to Moscow and Kyiv as both Russia and Ukraine are invited here,” Dewi said. “Indonesia may not have the political capital to be a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, but it can certainly play its role in promoting and facilitating dialogue.”
Seeing the war end cannot be seen only as the US’ agenda, but also Indonesia’s, which always underlines peaceful dialogue, she added.
“At the end of the day, Indonesia has the right to decide what’s best for the forum,” Dewi said.
As this year’s G20 president, Indonesia has sought to remain neutral in dealing with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, refusing to condemn Moscow beyond its flagrant violation of sovereignty.
The US and its allies in the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations – a subset of the G20 – have sought to punish Putin in as many ways as possible, including by threatening a boycott of the G20 summit to be held later this year, unless Russia is removed from the forum.
Western leaders however have signaled that Indonesia’s move to invite Ukraine to the November summit in Bali may not be enough.
Read also: Jokowi seeks to ‘unite’ G20 in talks with Ukraine, Russia
The administration of US President Joe Biden has welcomed Jakarta’s move to invite Ukraine, but made clear its view on Putin’s invitation, saying that it continued to believe that Russia’s participation with the international community and institution cannot be “business as usual”.
"We have conveyed our view that we don't think [Russia] should be a part of it publicly and privately," Biden press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday in Washington during a live-streamed White House press briefing. She added that the administration understood the invite was issued "before the invasion”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has declined to answer when asked if he would sit at a table with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a G20 summit Indonesia is hosting later this year, Reuters reported.
"We will decide on that if the matter arises," he said in an interview with ZDF public television, as quoted by Reuters. "It would be unwise to do anything else."
Rizal Sukma, a senior international security analyst, said he believed that Indonesia, as the host, did hope all members would attend because there was a need to discuss how to address the global economic impacts of the pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“If they still refused to come even [after Ukraine’s invitation], that is not Indonesia’s problem. It will reflect the fact that great powers really lack responsibility to resolve the economic suffering of hundreds of millions of people in the developing world because of the war,” Rizal said.
“If there is no commitment to attend [from these countries], Indonesia should just call off the summit. The G20 summit is important, but it is largely symbolic. The real work at the working level [between G20 members] should continue," Rizal added.
