Indonesia's Prabowo to visit Russia's Putin, skip G7 meeting in Canada
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will visit Vladimir Putin in Russia next week, skipping an in-person gathering of Western leaders at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada.
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The June 18–20 visit, at the invitation of the Russian president, will include bilateral talks and participation in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Indonesia's foreign ministry said. Before heading to Russia, Prabowo is set to visit Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
The decision to visit Putin and skip the G7 summit, despite a personal invitation from new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, has sparked questions over Jakarta's strategic direction under the 73-year-old ex-general. Still, Indonesia has long pursued a 'non-aligned' foreign policy, and the foreign ministry said the trips were planned well before the G7 invitation arrived.
'He recently received a call from the Canadian prime minister and conveyed his support for the G7 proceedings,' Foreign Ministry spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat said in a Thursday briefing. 'The president will not be attending the meeting.'
It's still unclear if Prabowo will join the G7 meeting virtually, or he may assign a delegate, the foreign ministry said. In contrast, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the summit in what may be a chance to mend frayed Canadian-Indian ties.
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Indonesia, like Southeast Asia, has sought to diversify its partners amid mounting global tensions over trade and security. Since taking office in October 2024, he's visited President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
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