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Retno wraps up G20 tour as Russia boycott issue lingers
Top diplomat visits UK, France, Turkey to gather support.
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Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi recently concluded a diplomatic roundtrip to secure continued support for Indonesia’s Group of 20 (G20) presidency, following protests by the United States and its Western allies last week in Washington DC that led to a walkout at a high-profile meeting.
The minister was on a tour of three G20 member states – the United Kingdom, France and Turkey – to discuss bilateral issues as well as ongoing developments at the G20, which has been mired by the threat of a Western boycott over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
On her first stop, Retno met with British counterpart Liz Truss in London on Tuesday, where they agreed on a two-year road map for the bilateral partnership that centers on economics, security and the environment.
The UK foreign secretary also lent her support for the G20 presidency. Meanwhile, Retno spoke of the impacts of the Ukraine war on the global economy, according to a statement from the ministry.
On Wednesday, the minister headed to Paris to meet her French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian and follow up on discussions in March and a phone call between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Retno told Le Drian that it was important for the Ukraine war to stop and for peace to be achieved through negotiations, as the war has had a serious economic impact, including on soaring energy and food prices.
“If the war keeps on going, the economic impact will be felt by all countries, especially among developing and least-developed countries,” she said in a press statement.
Retno concluded her tour with a visit to the Turkish capital Ankara on Friday. There she met with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and vowed to intensify communications on the situation in Ukraine and the G20.
During their meeting, Retno expressed her appreciation for the role Turkey has played in mediating Russia and Ukraine peace talks, saying all nations have the responsibility to build an “enabling environment” to secure peace.
Walkout stunt
While Russia’s bloody war in Ukraine has driven Western countries closer together, it has also sown discord among G20 members, with Moscow’s participation at the Bali summit in November still a hotly contested topic.
In the latest protest, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen led a multinational group of finance chiefs on a walkout as Russia officials started speaking via teleconference during a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington on Wednesday. British and Canadian officials also took part in the boycott, AFP reported.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who chaired the G20 meeting, insisted that the walkout did not cause any problems in discussions on the substance of the meeting.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s G20 co-sherpa lead, Dian Triansyah Djani, said that the country was still actively consulting and lobbying members of the G20, considering the forum’s importance in responding to global crises.
“The G20 needs to fulfill its role accordingly if we really want to recover together,” Triansyah said.
Planning ahead
Meanwhile, analysts are still divided on the way forward.
Rizal Sukma, senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the onus was on Indonesia to ensure that members committed to attending the summit.
If by August there was no commitment to attend, and that little progress was reached in the peace talks mediated by Turkey, Rizal suggested that Indonesia cancel the event.
“It would mean that the big powers simply don’t care about the suffering of people in emerging economies and developing countries. So instead of trying to do something that has no use, Indonesia should just call off the summit,” said the former Indonesian ambassador to the UK.
Meanwhile, Andreas Freytag, a member of the Think Tank 20 engagement group from Friedrich-Schiller University in Germany, said that the only way forward for Indonesia was to proceed with summit preparations and take up a mediating role between the Western nations and Russia.
Freytag said on Friday that Indonesia could also set up smaller rounds of meetings among G20 members to discuss Russia’s presence leading up to the summit.
