Indonesia’s defence minister Prabowo Subianto has put forward a peace plan for the war in Ukraine, which has been raging since 2014. The plan involves a ceasefire, a demilitarised zone, and a United Nations referendum in the disputed areas of eastern Ukraine.
Prabowo made the proposal at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a security forum held in Singapore on June 3, 2023. He urged the defence and military officials from around the world to issue a declaration calling for an immediate end to the hostilities between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists.
- According to Prabowo, the peace plan consists of the following points:
- A ceasefire in place at present positions of both conflicting parties
- The establishment of a demilitarized zone by withdrawing 15 kilometres from each party’s forward position
- The observation and monitoring of the demilitarized zone by a UN peacekeeping force
- A UN referendum to ascertain objectively the wishes of the majority of the inhabitants of the various disputed areas
- The respect for the outcome of the referendum by all parties involved
Prabowo said that Indonesia was willing to play a role in facilitating the peace process, as it had done in the past for other conflicts in Asia. He cited President Joko Widodo’s visit to Moscow and Kyiv last year, where he offered to mediate between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“Indonesia believes that peace is possible and that dialogue is the only way forward,” Prabowo said.
However, Prabowo’s proposal was met with scepticism by some of the other speakers at the forum. Josep Borrell Fontelles, the high representative and vice president of the European Union’s European Commission, said that military support for Ukraine was necessary to prevent its sovereignty from being eroded by outside aggression.
“We cannot stop supporting militarily Ukraine because we don’t want the peace which is … the peace of the surrender. The peace of the stronger,” Borrell said.
Borrell also said that any solution to the conflict must respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as international law and norms. He added that the EU was ready to work with any partner who shared these principles.
Zelenskiy, who also spoke at the forum via video link, reiterated his own 10-point peace plan, which he presented at the Normandy Format summit in Paris in December 2022. His plan calls on Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukraine, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. He also demands that Russia stop supporting and arming the separatists in eastern Ukraine, and that it release all Ukrainian political prisoners.
Zelenskiy said that he was open to dialogue with Putin, but only on the basis of mutual respect and trust. He also said that he was grateful for the international support that Ukraine had received, especially from the United States and NATO.
“I believe that together we can end this war and restore peace and stability in Europe,” Zelenskiy said.
The war in Ukraine has claimed over 14,000 lives and displaced more than 1.5 million people since it broke out in 2014. Despite several attempts to broker a lasting ceasefire, the fighting has continued sporadically along the line of contact between Ukrainian forces and separatist militias.
The conflict has also strained relations between Russia and the West, leading to sanctions and diplomatic tensions.
The Shangri-La Dialogue is an annual meeting of defence ministers, military chiefs, and security experts from Asia-Pacific and beyond. It is organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based think tank.
