The food and energy crisis provoked by Russian aggression in Ukraine began to be felt at the global level. Therefore, the war in "

From the very beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the reaction of ASEAN as an influential regional organization of Southeast Asia was rather weak and was limited to calling for diplomatic tools and a peaceful settlement.. This is not surprising, since there was no consensus between the ten member states that reacted differently to Russian aggression.. Singapore took the strongest position and imposed anti-Russian sanctions, Myanmar supported the actions of the Kremlin, and the rest of the countries tried to “sit out on the fence”, expressing different levels of “concern”. Although the actions of the Russian Federation grossly violate international law and the principles of the UN, to which these states are sensitive, most of them are still not ready to join Western sanctions and diplomatic condemnation of the Russian Federation..

Not my own war.

The attempt of the states of the region to hide behind “neutrality” is due to several reasons. The exhausting Korean and Vietnamese wars for most of them became a serious argument in favor of a peaceful solution to problems in bilateral and regional disputes and the observance of the principle of non-interference in each other's affairs.. Hence the calls for " In addition, many governments of these states perceive the Russian-Ukrainian war in the context of the confrontation between the Russian Federation and the United States and NATO, in which they do not want to take sides. Or at least condemn Russia. For them, it is a large state with a permanent mandate in the UN Security Council, rich in raw materials, and also an important supplier of weapons.. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the Russian Federation is the leading arms exporter to the region.. In the period from 2000 to 2021, Russia earned $10.87 billion from this. , for comparison: the United States - 8.4 billion, and China - 2.9 billion.

Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, on the one hand, causes concern and is viewed by the states of the region as a dangerous precedent in which the big autocracies flagrantly violate the rules and norms of the international order.. Russia's behavior in Europe creates parallels in China's possible actions in the Asia-Pacific region, especially against the backdrop of a noticeable convergence of these two. Reference to " At the same time, they mistakenly perceived the Russian-Ukrainian war as a geographically distant “conflict” that had no direct bearing on their interests, except for the potential global economic consequences, the scale of which, as it turned out, was underestimated..

An important factor in the perception of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which to a certain extent influences the restrained reaction of state governments, is also anti-Western and anti-American sentiment in certain circles of their citizens, in particular among the Muslim population.. Most of them are on the side of Russia in its war against Ukraine, since they perceive the West as a force hostile to the Islamic world (due to the Palestinian issue, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan), and consider Putin’s actions in the context of opposing US dominance in the world.

All these factors combine to serve the reflex desire to stay in one’s comfort zone, but the Russia-instigated war against Ukraine has tangibly violated it..

Leaving the "

Russia and Ukraine are important exporters of agricultural products to Southeast Asia. Ukraine accounts for 9% of wheat, oats and other grains, and Russia for another 4%. Ukraine grows 16% of world corn and is an important supplier of sunflower oil to these countries, Russia - 10% of mineral fertilizers. And this is not a complete list of goods that are exported to the region and affect food security.. President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on the countries of Asia and Africa to more actively support Ukraine and put pressure on the Russian Federation, warning of the food crisis provoked by it.. Obviously, the threat of this crisis was not taken seriously enough until it became real and affected essential products.. Added to the food crisis are rising prices for energy, oil and other commodities, which will negatively affect the growth of global and national economies that have not yet recovered from the pandemic.

In an effort to avert a food crisis and salvage the holding of the G20 summit, at which Putin's presence creates difficulty for Indonesia's presidency, President Joko Widodo turned to world diplomacy. His visit to Kyiv was the first visit by an Asian leader during the Russian-Ukrainian war, which in itself has a positive meaning and, perhaps, will help to understand the devastating consequences of the actions of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine. The meeting with Zelensky and Putin was an opportunity to illustrate Indonesia's "

By coincidence, Ukrainian grain has become a very sensitive topic for the Indonesian government.. Flour shortages are forcing local companies to raise prices for instant vermicelli, a hugely popular Indonesian food item with demand of about 13.27 billion packs in 2021.. This caused serious dissatisfaction among the population, because the prices for vermicelli actually became an indicator of inflation for food products in general..

Vermicelli and diplomacy.

Expectations that the visit of the Indonesian president would significantly affect the development of Russian-Ukrainian relations were low. Joko Widodo focuses more on the country's economic issues than on foreign policy issues, and Indonesia has rather limited mediation experience outside of Southeast Asia.. Question in another. Neither the food and energy crisis provoked by Russian aggression, nor the warnings of Western states influenced the decision of the Indonesian leadership to strengthen its position towards Russia.

Widodo did not take into account the requests of Western leaders to cancel Putin's invitation to the fall G20 summit, even under the threat of a boycott. The invitation of the Ukrainian president was a manifestation of the so-called balanced approach to the " In this way, Indonesia tried to illustrate that it is ready to take into account the interests of the West, but at the same time wants to maintain good relations with Russia.. That the summit will require special diplomatic maneuvers from the Indonesian authorities, it became clear already during the recent meeting of the G20 foreign ministers.

“Global challenges require global solutions,” the Indonesian Foreign Minister stressed in her speech.. But neither a group photo, nor a common communique, much less developments for future cooperation were made during the ministerial meeting.. Sergei Lavrov was forced to leave the event ahead of schedule, but later the press secretary of the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on the intensive contacts of the head of department with representatives of other states, showing photos.

It must be admitted that the presence of Russians at international events reduces the pressure on Russia that Western states are trying to achieve by isolating it.. Indonesia, like most of the states of Southeast Asia, emphasizes its interest in the soonest end of the war in Ukraine and the restoration of food supply chains, mineral fertilizers, energy resources. No one doubts the sincerity of this desire. But the refusal to support Western sanctions, the creation of additional conditions for the political and economic survival of Russia, unfortunately, postpone this prospect..

During a visit to Moscow, Joko Widodo focused on bilateral cooperation, raised issues of the food crisis and thanked the Russian president " And on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial summit, the head of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry stressed that developing countries bear the brunt of the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which she still calls a " But such talk is of limited use unless backed up by concrete steps..

ASEAN states have their own characteristics. With this in mind, even the United States, acting as a guarantor of security in the region, is cautious in its desire to achieve greater support for these countries in countering China and Russia.. At the same time, modern challenges are forcing the ASEAN states to gradually reconsider their traditional behavior.

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Read more articles by Natalia Butyrskaya at the link.