Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the chair of the Group of 20 nations, has embarked on a trip to Kiev and Moscow in a largely self-appointed role as a peace negotiator between the two nations.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Widodo made the journey after attending the G7 summit in the Bavarian Alps as a guest, flying to Poland from where he continued by train to the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Tuesday evening.
"From platform 4 of Przemysl Glowny Station in the city of Przemysl, Poland, at nine o'clock in the evening, I and a limited entourage took a train to Kiev, Ukraine. We started this peace mission with good intentions. Hope things will get easier," the president tweeted.
Widodo, who is due to host the G20 summit in Bali in November, said this week that he would urge Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to peace talks and call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in an attempt to avert a global food crisis.
"My mission is to call on Ukrainian President Zelensky to open space for dialogue in the context of peace, to build peace, because the war must stop and the food supply chain must be reactivated."
Widodo, who is due to travel to Russia on Thursday, said that he would be urging Putin "to open space for dialogue and, as soon as possible, enter a ceasefire and stop the war."
In April, Widodo said he had invited both Zelensky and Putin to participate in the Bali summit.
Australian Associated Press
