STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday made substantive progress in their first direct talks since March on a deal to relieve a global food crisis caused by blocked Black Sea grain exports. The high-stakes meeting involving the U.N. and Turkish officials in Istanbul broke up after slightly more than three hours with an agreement to meet again in Turkey next week.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the talks had provided a “ray of hope to ease human suffering and alleviate hunger around the world” but cautioned that while he was optimistic, a deal was “not yet fully done.” The Turkish Defense Minister signaled that a final agreement could be announced at the next talks.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in the Sustainable Finance for Climate Transition Roundtable in Bali on Thursday reminded that countries in the world are facing obstacles in their efforts to recover the economy, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian geopolitical conflict, as well as soaring inflation. “All of this exacerbates global economic and political pressures,” she said. The war also resulted in an increase in international commodity prices, such as coal, bauxite, nickel, and palm oil.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Indonesia Vasyl Hamianin on Tuesday said President Jokowi’s visit to Kyiv and Moscow was a good start, but it takes more than good words and persuasion to convince Russia to stop its aggression against Ukraine.
“I must admit that I am very much satisfied [with the visit]. If anyone expected that after this historical visit that Putin would stop and the war would end, they must be fantasizing dreamers. Because peace does not come as easy as that,” Hamianin said in a virtual press conference in Jakarta. Russian President Vladimir Putin still shows no sign of his willingness to talk to Ukraine, according to Hamianin.
“Hopefully, there is a deep understanding in [both] the Indonesian government and public that good words, persuasion, and arguments are not enough for Russia to stop,” the ambassador said. Ambassador Hamianin also gave comments about the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov walking out of the G20 talks.
“Perhaps [Lavrov’s walkout] was not because the Ukrainian Foreign Minister took the floor. I think it was because he was humiliated and he understood that there was no room for a terrorist state of Russia, invader, war criminal inside a respectful gathering,” Hamianin said (Red/many sources).
