Russian President Vladimir Putin met Indonesian President Joko Widodo in the Kremlin on June 30, where they discussed diplomacy, and a stunning array of economic initiatives and projects between the two countries. Widodo is the rotating chair of the G20 this year; next year he will chair ASEAN.
Widodo briefed Putin on a meeting that he held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev the day before, and delivered to Putin a message from Zelenskyy, the contents of which are not publicly disclosed. In his remarks, reported on the President of Russia’s website, Widodo said “efforts to restore global supply chains are futile without integrating Russian food and fertilizer supplies and Ukrainian grain supplies.” He added that at the meeting of G7 nations on June 27, “I asked them for guarantees that Russian food and fertilizers would be exempt from sanctions.” Putin replied: “Formally, they are not included in the sanctions; this is true. But the owners of our companies that produce fertilizers, and even their family members, have been put on the sanction lists. This makes it difficult to conclude contracts and complicated financial transactions. They have imposed sanctions on cargo insurance. That is, they have not formally imposed any sanctions on the products, but they have created a situation where it is much more difficult now to supply these products to foreign markets.”
Otherwise, the two presidents discussed a wide array of initiatives:
• Presidents Putin and Widodo are working on negotiations for a draft free trade zone agreement between Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union. After their meeting, Putin told reporters at their joint press conference: “We attach much importance to creating a free trade zone between Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union. We hope talks on the corresponding draft agreement will be held before the end of the year and will produce results.”
