Prabowo's Proposed Russian-Ukraine Peace Reaps Polemic, These Two Are In The Spotlight

Defense Minister Prabowo while attending Shangri-La Dialogue 2023 in Singapore. (Instagram/prabowo)

JAKARTA - Indonesia's Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto's peace proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war in an international forum in Singapore last week has garnered comments, with the latest President Joko Widodo rumored to be calling him after a refusal from Ukraine.

Being the talk of a crowd and a polemic in the domestic public sphere, Prabowo's proposal was not too much discussed abroad.

Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue 20th Asia Security Summit in Singapore on Saturday, June 3, he submitted a number of proposals.

It includes a ceasefire, a 15-kilometer withdrawal of troops from the current leading position to create a demilitarized zone, a peacekeeping force deployed by the United Nations to monitor the zone, as well as a referendum held by the United Nations to ensure objectively the wishes of the majority of the population in disputed areas.

"As Minister of Defense, he carries out our constitutional mandate, which is to actively encourage world peace, while still carrying out active free politics. Not participating in any defense pact," said Indonesian Defense Minister spokesman Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak in a short message to VOI, Wednesday, June 7.

"All efforts to make world peace include submitting various forms of dialogue and world peace proposals, regardless of whether approved or not, the Minister of Defense will continue to voice peaceful resolutions, not only for Russia and Ukraine, which are in conflict and are also divided into other worlds, including potential conflicts and wars that could disrupt peace," he continued.

Regarding the proposal submitted, the problem of referendum and military withdrawal of the two countries has become a matter of much attention.

Rejecting Prabowo's proposal, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, reiterated Kyiv's poisi that Russia should withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

"There is no disputed territory between Ukraine and the Russian Federation to hold a referendum there," he said.

"Russia must stay away from Ukrainian soil and Ukraine must restore its territorial integrity at internationally recognized borders. There is no other alternative," he stressed as quoted by the Australian Financial Review.

Nikolenko himself wants Indonesia to support the 10-point peace plan previously proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying Ukraine "appreciates Indonesia's attention to the issue of restoration of peace".

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell who was present at the dialogue in Singapore rejected what he described as a 'peace of surrender.

"Russian aggression should not be rewarded with further territorial concessions," he said, citing The Washington Post.

Apart from Nikolenko, the rejection of the proposal was also conveyed by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, highlighting the idea of freezing Russian-Ukraine troops in their current position, by creating a demilitarized zone.

"Russia is now trying to disrupt Ukraine's counter-attack in any way," Nikolenko wrote in a post on Facebook.

Ukraine is said to be preparing for a retaliatory attack on Russia, as Western advanced weapons continue to arrive to support Kyiv forces on the battlefield as well as retake Russian-occupied territories.

Monday this week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine had enough weapons to start a counter-attack believed to give it the necessary victory.

Ukraine has been carrying out massive attacks to retake 18 percent of its territory still occupied by Russia, using tanks, armored cars and artillery donated by the West.