TOKYO, March 9. /TASS/. Indonesia does not plan to impose sanctions on Russia over the situation around Ukraine and Moscow’s military operation, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in an interview published in the Nikkei newspaper on Wednesday.
Sanctions "are not the best solution to resolve the problem" as "people and civilians will be the victims," he noted. That said, Widodo expressed concern about what is happening in Ukraine now. "It is important for all countries to push for the tension reduction, de-escalation - intensify negotiation. This is very important. Negotiation, cease-fire, then stop the war," he noted.
"Ukraine and Russia are friends of Indonesia," the president emphasized.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine, stressing that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. Western countries responded to the actions of the Russian authorities by slapping sanctions against physical and legal entities.