JAKARTA – Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto has affirmed his intention to maintain and strengthen ties with Russia, calling the nation a “great friend” after meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 31. Mr. Prabowo, currently serving as Defence Minister, emphasized the importance of bolstering cooperation in defense, energy, and education sectors. He is set to assume the presidency from Mr. Joko Widodo in October.
“We consider Russia as a great friend,” Mr. Prabowo stated in a defense ministry release. “I would like to continue to maintain and enhance this relationship. In our history, we remember Russia has always helped us in many aspects when we were in difficulties.” Mr. Prabowo expressed his desire to continue defense and nuclear energy partnerships and to facilitate Indonesian students studying medicine in Russia.
His visit to Moscow follows a previous trip to Beijing, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping to reaffirm Indonesia’s commitment to a policy of friendship with China. Mr. Prabowo has maintained that his foreign policy will be one of non-alignment, aiming to foster relationships with all nations, including China and the United States.
President Putin, quoted by Russian state news agency TASS, stated Russia’s readiness to “scale up supplies of agricultural products, implement investment projects in the field of energy, transport, and infrastructure.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted that Indonesia’s role in the Ukraine conflict, referred to by Putin as a special operation, is “growing significantly nowadays.”
In 2023, Mr. Prabowo proposed a peace plan for the Ukraine war, which includes a ceasefire and the establishment of a demilitarized zone, during his address at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore.