Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has rejected a peace plan proposed by Indonesia aimed at settling the conflict with Russia, the Antara news agency reported on Thursday, citing Indonesian President-elect and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.
The minister proposed a peace plan to end the Ukraine conflict at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore on Saturday, calling for a demilitarized zone and a United Nations-run referendum in what he described as disputed territory.
Speaking to reporters following his meeting with incumbent President Joko Widodo on Thursday, Subianto said he had met Zelensky in Singapore and outlined Indonesia’s plan to achieve a ceasefire with Russia.
“[Zelensky] did not agree [with the initiative], however, we will continue to try,” he said.
The proposal includes a ceasefire and the establishment of a demilitarized zone that would see each party withdraw 15km from their current forward positions.
The zone would be observed and monitored by a UN peacekeeping mission, Subianto said. A UN referendum would then be held “to ascertain objectively the wishes of the majority of the inhabitants of the various disputed areas.”
Jakarta, which pursues a policy of non-aligned diplomacy, had previously attempted to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko dismissed the plan, claiming that “there are no disputed territories between Ukraine and the Russian Federation to hold referendums there.”
Commenting on the Ukraine “peace summit” due to take place at Burgenstock Resort in Switzerland on June 15 and 16, Subianto said the president had yet to decide about Indonesia’s participation but added that “all relevant parties” should attend the event.
Russia has not been invited to the summit, which is expected to address Zelensky’s so-called ‘ten-point peace plan’. The proposal demands a complete withdrawal of Russian forces from all territories that Ukraine considers its own, for Moscow to pay reparations, and for Russian officials to present themselves to war crimes tribunals.
Russia instantly rejected the proposal as “unacceptable” when it was first floated by Zelensky in late 2022. According to Moscow, the plan disregards the situation on the ground and is a sign of Kiev’s unwillingness to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RT last week that it was “absurd” to hold a summit on settling the conflict without Moscow’s participation.