Russian Ambassador's Remarks on Indonesian Defence Minister's Visit to the US Amid Prabowo-Putin Meeting

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Indonesia, Sergei Gennadievich Tolchenov, responded nonchalantly to the incident of Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Syamsoeddin’s visit to the Pentagon in the United States, which coincided with President Prabowo Subianto’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday (13/4/2026). Sergei appreciated Indonesia’s active and independent foreign policy. Moreover, Prabowo holds the principle that a thousand friends are too few, and one enemy is too many. “We must be one of the friends, and what Mr Prabowo mentioned as ‘a thousand friends’, we are here within those thousand friends,” he said again. Sergei stated that Russia would not be jealous and would not prohibit Indonesia from establishing relations with any country. However, he noted that many Western countries might warn Indonesia against associating with Russia. Therefore, Sergei emphasised that Indonesia should remain a sovereign nation and has the right to determine its own path in relating to any country.