P

resident Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono is scheduled to have a number of bilateral meetings with state leaders on the sidelines of the upcoming 2012 G20 Summit in Mexico. The bilateral talks will include a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which he will raise the security situation in Syria.

“My upcoming meeting with President Putin is being prepared. It is very important to maintain the good relationship between Indonesia and Russia. But we will not talk only about the economy, we will also discuss the Middle East, for example the situation in Syria,” Yudhoyono told a press conference at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta before departing for his 10-day trip to the Americas.

During this trip, the President will, among other things, attend the G20 summit in Los Cabos and Baja California Sur, Mexico, from June 16–19, and the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, known as the Rio+20 Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 20–22.

Thereafter, the President will travel to Ecuador where he is slated to have meetings with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Parliament speaker Fernando Cordero in Quito. This is a follow-up to Correa’s visit to Jakarta in
November 2007.

Yudhoyono’s revelation about the planned meeting with Putin came amid mounting international pressure on Russia and China to support global efforts to end the worsening situation in Syria.

Russia has been accused of supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who is believed to be behind the massive attacks on his own people which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians.

Syria is also home to hundreds of Indonesian workers. The government said it had evacuated dozens of Indonesian citizens from Syria while more than a hundred were being sheltered at the Indonesian embassy in Damascus.

The Foreign Ministry has summoned Syria’s top envoy in Jakarta to explain Indonesia’s position concerning the violence. “Our stance remains that dialogue and communication should be promoted rather than violent measures,” Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.

But Yudhoyono’s planned meeting with Putin comes after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made statements accusing Russia of sending Syria attack helicopters. Various reports have suggested that Russia is currently Assad’s biggest ally, supplying him with weapons.

Russia and China have also used their vetoes in the UN Security Council concerning Syria. The two countries have vested interests in the country. Russia is reportedly one of the major suppliers of weapons to Syria and China is believed to be the third-largest importer from Syria.

Apart from Putin, Yudhoyono said he would also have bilateral meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

“The UN Secretary General has appointed me, Prime Minister Cameron and the Liberian President, to be co-chairs of a side event of the Rio+20 summit. In New York, in September, we will collect the thoughts of world leaders on simpler collaboration on Millennium Development Goals [MDG] post 2015 and the Kyoto Protocol, whose deadline falls later this year,” Yudhoyono said.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the side events Yudhoyono is scheduled to attend are the Conference on the Green Economy, Leaders Valuing Nature: A Celebration of Commitments and the UNESCAP Regional Commission’s Joint Side Event.

Among the President’s delegation were Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan and Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam.

The flight will stop over in Dubai and Amsterdam. Before going to Mexico City, the President will have another layover in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, to pick up First Lady Ani Yudhoyono who has been undergoing medical treatment at the Allegheny General Hospital.