“When Russia invaded Ukraine, the West led the global campaign of condemnation. It called for the world to denounce Russia in the name of human rights and international law,” he wrote. “Today, however, the same countries are allowing yet another bloody conflict, this time in Gaza.”
The comments came after Prabowo provoked widespread controversy at last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, when he was still Indonesia’s defense minister, by urging Ukraine to accept a Korea-like demilitarized zone with Moscow. That would effectively oblige Kyiv to accept the loss of territories conquered by Russia.
Prabowo is due to deliver a keynote address Saturday in Singapore.
Not Asia’s war
Even before the violence in the Middle East, there were signs Russia was winning the PR war among developing nations. The latest Democracy Perception Index, an annual survey of more than 60,000 people across 53 countries, showed backing for Moscow gradually increased between 2022 and 2024 outside of Europe and the United States.
The survey found that while support to cut economic ties with Russia remains strong in the U.S. and EU, the picture is radically different elsewhere in the world, where most said they want to maintain economic links with Russia.
“There is a sense of fatigue: Some Southeast Asian countries want the war to end and are more relaxed about ‘how’ than the West is,” said a senior European diplomat, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “In addition, the ‘double standards’ argument on Gaza has quite some legs with some.”
Getting those countries on board will be a key challenge for Ukraine as it battles a well-armed adversary and struggles to get the ammunition and manpower it needs to secure victory.
