Jokowi to G20 Leaders: ‘Stop the War. I Repeat, Stop the War’

BALI, KOMPAS.com – G20 Chair Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo once again urged his counterparts to end the war but did not elaborate during the third session of the leader’s summit on the resort island of Bali on Wednesday, Nov. 16.

The statement came after a missile strike on Polish soil, near its border with Ukraine, on Tuesday local time or early Wednesday here. At least two people were killed, according to reports.

“To start this third session, allow me to repeat my statement in the opening of this summit yesterday. Stop the war. I repeat, stop the war,” Jokowi told leaders of the major economies, who will discuss issues on digital transformation.

Jokowi said that armed conflicts will put many things at stake. People will bear the brunt of the war, while the world economy will not recover if the situation gets worse.

Also read: G20 Summit Kicks Off on Indonesian Resort Island of Bali

“As leaders, we all have a responsibility to ensure a conducive global situation for the future,” Jokowi said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told G20 leaders Wednesday there was a "terrorist state" among them, accusing Russia of a missile strike on Poland that killed two people, according to the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Speaking by video link, Zelensky called the strike "a true statement brought by Russia for the G20 summit", AFP stated.

Poland has said there is no clear evidence of who launched the missile.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov did not participate in the third session of the G20 Summit meeting today.

A spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Teuku Faizasyah said that Minister Lavrov had returned to Russia on Tuesday evening, Nov. 15.

Emergency meeting

Following the missile strike, the G7 (Group of Seven) countries held an emergency meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali.

“We follow the development that the G7 have conducted their emergency meeting. It’s part of the dynamic during the international conference,” Faizasyah told journalists on Wednesday.

Also read: G20 Meeting: Jokowi to Hold Bilateral Meetings with Over a Dozen Leaders