Russian, Indonesian Presidents Discuss Trade, Ukraine In Moscow Meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed to the Kremlin on Thursday his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, who arrived in Russia on a working visit.

Putin said the trade turnover between Russia and Indonesia has grown 42% in the past year and continues to pick up the pace.

"I know that Indonesia has shown interest in developing relations with the Eurasian Economic Union, and in May we decided to start the process of (Indonesia's) rapprochement with this regional organization," he said.

Putin noted that the G20 meeting is to be held under Indonesia's chairmanship in 2022 and next year it will host the ASEAN Summit.

"We talked on the phone with you, and you showed concern and interest in the issues related to the crisis in Ukraine, in the Donbas. I will inform you in detail about everything that is happening there, and about our vision of this problem," he said.

"The food crisis is related to the fact that the West has imposed sanctions against Russia, banned its vessels from entering ports, making payments, created problems with freight, insurance, all this is being discussed at the UN level," said Putin. "The topic of food can be discussed for a long time, but now we need to take measures so that the situation in this area does not become tragic."

Regarding grain export from Ukraine, Putin said it is possible to organize it via Romania, Poland, Belarus, the Danube, and the ports in the Sea of Azov.

As for fertilizers, Russia has lifted all limitations on their export because production is enough to provide domestic and global needs, he said.

Widodo stressed the importance of promoting peace between Russia and Ukraine.

He said he came to Moscow from Kyiv with a message from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Putin.

Widodo said a significant part of the talks was devoted to issues of grain and fertilizer export, and the two leaders discussed the development of relations between Russia and Indonesia.

"Indonesia would like the war to end soon, and the supply chains of food, fertilizers and energy need to be restored immediately because it affects the lives of hundreds of millions and even billions of people," he said. -