Indonesia proposes “peace plan” to freeze war in Ukraine and “referendum” in occupied territories

Indonesia's Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto proposed his “peace plan” for Ukraine, calling for an immediate ceasefire and establishing a demilitarized zone along the current line of contact, Ukrinform reports. Subianto said this at a plenary session of the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on 3 June 2023. His multi-point plan included a ceasefire "in place at present positions of both conflicting parties" and establishing a demilitarised zone by withdrawing 15 kilometers (nearly 10 miles) from each party's forward position. He said the demilitarized zone should be observed and monitored by a UN peacekeeping force, adding that a UN referendum should be held "to ascertain objectively the wishes of the majority of the inhabitants of the various disputed areas."

"I propose that the Shangri-La dialog find a mode of... voluntary declaration urging both Ukraine and Russia to immediately start negotiations for peace," Prabowo said.

Indonesia's proposal follows President Joko Widodo's visit year to Moscow and Kyiv, where he offered to play peace broker between their leaders and rekindle peace talks, according to Reuters. Speaking on the same panel, Josep Borrell Fontelles, high representative and vice president of the European Union's European Commission, noted that if military support for Ukraine stopped, the war would quickly end - but with that country's sovereignty falling to 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.

Follow-up:

Ukrainian MFA to Indonesia: Russian-occupied territories are not disputed to hold referendums

Related articles:

• Hungary calls for “ceasefire” while featuring Ukraine map without Crimea – UNIAN
• Blinken warns against peace efforts that would reward Russian aggression – Reuters
• There should be no foreign peace plan for Ukraine, only Ukrainian – Ukraine President’s Office
• China demands that Russia retains occupied territories of Ukraine – WSJ