Indonesian president visits Ukraine on ‘peace mission’

Indonesian President Joko Widodo started a visit on Ukraine on Wednesday that is intended to help rekindle peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and explore ways to free up exports of grain to global markets.

President Widodo, better known as Jokowi, and his wife arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv by train, the Indonesian presidential website said.

Jokowi is the chair of the Group of 20 (G20) nations and one of six world leaders the United Nations appointed as “champions” of a Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG), formed to address the threat of an hunger and destitution posed by the war in Ukraine.

He has said he is committed to tackling rising food and energy prices, with the Ukraine conflict causing food and energy shortages that have stoked inflation in many countries.

Before the war, Ukraine had been one of Indonesia’s biggest wheat suppliers.

Jokowi will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before travelling to Russia for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Indonesian leader said he will urge Putin to agree to a ceasefire.