Meet Chairman of Ukraine Parliament, Puan Maharani Pushes for Peace Between Ukraine and Russia

Indonesian Speaker of the House Dr. (H.C.) Puan Maharani, held a bilateral meeting with the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Olena Kondratiuk. In the meeting, Puan pushed for peace between Ukraine and Russia, which are currently still at war.

The bilateral meeting was held ahead of the opening of the 8th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) at the DPR RI Building, Senayan, Jakarta, Wednesday, 5 October 2022. Puan also expressed concern over the war in Ukraine which caused many casualties and had an impact on the global situation in the world.

“Our special invitation to the Ukraine Parliament at P20, is our concrete step to assist communication among Parliaments in resolving the war in Ukraine,” said Puan.

Puan expressed appreciation that the bilateral relation between Indonesia and Ukraine, which had existed for 30 years, is still well maintained despite uncertain regional situation due to war. Indonesia is one of Ukraine’s largest trading partners in Southeast Asia.

“I understand that the war in Ukraine has affected our efforts in the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the peace process is Indonesia’s top priority,” said Puan.

“The visit of the President of Indonesia to Ukraine and Russia in June was carried out to bring a message of peace. The visit also to ensure safe passage for food and fertilizer from both Ukraine and Russia,” continued the Indonesia’s first female Speaker of the House.

Puan added that Indonesia welcomes the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine via Black Sea. This agreement plays an important role in reducing the impact of war on global supply chains.

“Of course, this positive step must also be followed by easy access to export food and fertilizer products from Russia, as agreed in the Istanbul agreement,” explained Puan.

The former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs also hoped that other countries will respect the agreement. Puan asked all countries to ensure balanced implementation of the Istanbul Agreement and hoped that the initiative would also bring peace in the Region.

“Indonesia hopes that the initiative to open the food supply chain will continue for the common interest of all parties,” she said.

It is known that Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement in Istanbul last July to deliver millions of tons of Ukrainian wheat to global market to alleviate the worsening food crisis for millions of people in developing countries. Ukraine itself is the second largest supplier of wheat to Indonesia.

In meetings with other parliamentary leaders, Puan continues to encourage the international community to continue to support dialogue and diplomacy as an effort to deal with the war between Ukraine and Russia. She also emphasized Indonesia’s position on the conflict between the two countries.

Indonesia upholds the goals and principles of the UN charter and international law regarding the war between Ukraine and Russia, such as peaceful resolution of dispute and upholding territorial integrity and country’s sovereignity.

Indonesia sees that the referendum in the 4 regions of Ukraine violates the principles of the UN charter and international law. Indonesia encourages Russia and Ukraine to continue to open dialogue and diplomacy, as one of the efforts to end the war and lead to peace,” said Puan.

Puan then mentioned the results of the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly in Bali last March which agreed to form an IPU Task Force on Ukraine in which Indonesia was one of the countries initiated the Task Force. According to Puan, the IPU Task Force is also expected to mediate differences between Russia and Ukraine, as well as facilitate communication between the two countries.

“Indonesia has also been the country that initiated the resolution on the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the 144th General Assembly in March. As a follow-up to this, the Indonesian House’s Chairperson of Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation visited Ukraine last July to open a dialogue to end the conflict,” continued the Chair of the 144th IPU General Assembly.

Indonesia together with the IPU task force will later present the results of the visit to Ukraine at the 145th IPU General Assembly which will be held in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2022.

On the other hand, the DPR continues to ensure that bilateral relations between parliaments can be established even better, including with Ukraine. Puan hoped that the Bilateral Cooperation Group with the Ukrainian Parliament can further strengthen relations between the two countries.

“The DPR RI sees the importance of parliamentary diplomacy, both bilateral and multilateral, at the regional or global level because the war in Ukraine has had a serious impact on many countries in the world, particularly related to food supply (wheat and fertilizer) and energy,” she concluded.