Indonesian President Joko Widodo, chairman of the Group of 20 (G20) nations, is visiting Kyiv and Moscow in a largely self-appointed role as a peace negotiator between the two countries.

Mr Widodo embarked on the journey after attending the G7 summit in the Bavarian Alps as a guest, flying to Poland from where he continued by train to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Tuesday evening.

“From platform four of Przemysl Glowny Station in the city of Przemysl, Poland, at nine o’clock in the evening, I and a limited entourage took a train to Kyiv, Ukraine,” tweeted Mr Widodo. “We started this peace mission with good intentions. Hope things will get easier.”

Mr Widodo, due to host the G20 summit in Bali in November, said this week that he would urge Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to peace talks.

He called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war to avert a global food crisis.

“My mission is to call on Ukrainian President Zelensky to open space for dialogue in the context of peace, to build peace, because the war must stop and the food supply chain must be reactivated,” Mr Widodo added.

The Indonesian president, due to travel to Russia on Thursday, said he would urge Mr Putin to open space for dialogue and, as soon as possible, enter a ceasefire and stop the war.

He had in April invited both Messrs Zelensky and Putin to participate in the Bali summit. 

(dpa/NAN)