Russia security chief in Indonesia to meet Prabowo
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Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu is seen as influential in the decision to send Russian troops into Ukraine in 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
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JAKARTA - Russia’s top security official Sergei Shoigu was in Indonesia for talks on Feb 25 with President Prabowo Subianto and his defence minister, as Moscow and Jakarta seek to boost defence ties.
South-east Asia’s biggest economy maintains a neutral foreign policy, refusing to take sides in the Ukraine conflict or in great power competition between the United States and China.
Mr Shoigu, Russia’s former defence minister and now secretary of its Security Council, is seen as influential in the decision to send Russian troops into Ukraine in 2022 and is a staunch ally of President Vladimir Putin.
He will meet Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin for a courtesy call in the capital Jakarta on the morning of Feb 25, Indonesia’s defence ministry said in a statement.
Mr Prabowo will then receive Mr Shoigu at the presidential palace on the afternoon of Feb 25, a palace spokesperson said in a statement, without providing more details.
Russian news agency RIA said on Feb 24 that Mr Shoigu would discuss bilateral ties with the “top leadership of Indonesia”, including security and defence issues.
The recently-inaugurated Prabowo has pledged to be bolder on the world stage and visited Moscow in July for talks with Mr Putin.
In November 2024, Indonesia and Russia held their first joint naval drills.
Russia sent three corvette-class warships, a medium tanker ship, a military helicopter, and a tug boat for the drills held in the east of Indonesia’s main island Java.
Jakarta has billion-dollar trade ties with Moscow, yet major arms imports have stalled in recent years after Russia seized Crimea in 2014 and launched its offensive on Ukraine.
Still, since becoming defence minister in 2019, Mr Prabowo has kept alive a US$1.1 billion (S$1.4 billion) Russian fighter jet deal agreed a year earlier, despite the reported threat of US sanctions. AFP
