Indo-Pacific blues: Blinken, Putin aide to talk in Jakarta?

Jakarta: Fresh from delivering a stern new warning to Russia over Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Indonesia on Monday to find a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin already in Jakarta for security talks.

Just a day after joining his Group of Seven foreign minister colleagues in issuing the blunt demand for Russia to step back from a military escalation near the Ukrainian border, Blinken began a 48-hour visit to Indonesia with his plane parking in the shadow of that of Putin’s national security adviser Nikolay Patrushev. Patrushev is considered the third most senior official in Russia’s government.

Shortly before Blinken landed, the Russian embassy in Jakarta announced Patrushev’s visit, saying he would be in the Indonesian capital for the same two days as the top American diplomat. The timing means that Patrushev’s meetings will coincide with a major speech Blinken plans to give Tuesday on the Biden administration’s Indo- Pacific strategy.

There was no indication that the two men might meet in Jakarta. Nor was there any indication that either would acknowledge the other’s presence in Indonesia, which is the headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a key regional security player.

Blinken was meeting Monday afternoon with Indonesian President Joko Widodo before a full slate of events on Tuesday, including the speech. —(AP)