Ukraine’s ambassador to Indonesia, Vasyl Hamianin, has denounced the planned appearance of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the 2022 G20 Bali Summit in November this year. Speaking to Coconuts today, Hamianin also reflected on today marking one month since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
“He must be considered as [a] war criminal. Guilty of crime against humanity,” Hamianin said in an interview with Coconuts.
“According to the international law and principles of humanity worldwide, [Putin] must not take part in any authoritative and prestigious summits, forums, any international meetings whatsoever,” he added, saying that Putin’s appearance at the G20 Summit would be an “insult” to democracy.
As reported yesterday, Russia’s Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobyova confirmed President Putin’s plans to visit the G20 Summit in Bali despite calls to exclude Russia from the event in November.
Speaking at a press conference in Jakarta yesterday, Vorobyova argued that excluding Putin from the G20 Summit would not end the ongoing war. In addition, she said that the G20 Summit is a forum to talk about the global economy and not for discussions about the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
“Let me disagree with what she [has said],” said Hamianin.
Hamianin said that Vorobyova’s statement was “very traditional logic of Russia propaganda” and mentioned that Russia had also expressed in the past that “sanctions, condemnation” toward the country could not stop the war.
“What can stop the war? Only the goodwill of Putin can stop the war?” he asked rhetorically, before adding that “it’s really important to take measures to limit the ability of Russia to produce weapons to attack civilians.”
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis has reportedly put Indonesia, which holds the G20 presidency for the first time, in an awkward position. The increasing calls for excluding Russia from the summit poses a question on whether welcoming Putin to Bali in Indonesia would jeopardize Indonesia’s own interests in G20.
“I believe that the wisdom and experience of Indonesia will lead to the right solution,” Hamianin answered diplomatically when asked about the situation.
According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 902 civilians have been killed and 1,459 have been wounded in the war in Ukraine. The data was recorded between Feb. 24 and March 20, but the office warned the actual number could be higher than reported.
Most casualties were hit by “explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes,” OHCHR said.
“We don’t have time for long negotiations,” Hamianin said in reflection of the one month since the invasion started.
Speaking to a local news outlet today, Indonesia’s G20 co-sherpa Dian Triansyah Djani said it is the responsibility of all G20 presidents to invite all G20 members to the summit based on “principles, rules, and procedures.”
Therefore, according to Dian, Indonesia has the obligation to invite all G20 members for the 2022 Summit, reiterating that the main agenda of G20 is global economic recovery.
