Jakarta. Indonesia has said it is “flexible” when it comes to picking its oil suppliers as long as they can help boost domestic supplies after the European Union (EU) urged ASEAN economies to ditch Russian crude.

EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas recently said in Brunei that ASEAN should seek alternatives to Russian oil, warning that Moscow's crude revenue has bankrolled the war in Ukraine. Countries across the globe are now searching for alternative energy sources after Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade puts pressure on oil shipments from the Middle East. Russia’s client list for crude has grown since the Iran war erupted as oil from Middle East nations are unable to leave the Hormuz Strait. Indonesia has agreed to buy its crude and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) following President Prabowo Subianto's trip to Moscow earlier this month.

Asked about Europe’s concerns, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Vahd Nabyl A Mulachela said on Thursday that shoring up energy reserves had been Indonesia’s top priority. And so, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy insists that it is open to whoever does the job.

“Amidst the current highly dynamic geopolitical conditions, it is of our urgent national interest to secure energy security,” Nabyl told a press briefing in Jakarta.

“We are working together with various partners, including the US and Russia. … We are open to stronger cooperation with everyone, including the EU, to ensure energy affordability, reliability, availability, and long-term stability.”

Kallas made the warning on the margins of the ASEAN-EU ministerial talks on Tuesday, even saying that the current energy crisis “is benefiting Russia”.

Deputy Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir told the Jakarta Globe later that day that no European representative had raised the issue, “be it in the forum, hallways, or the pull-aside meetings”.

“Our focus here is to boost relations, be it bilaterally or bloc-to-bloc,” Arrmanatha, who was leading Indonesia's delegation at the Brunei talks, said at the time.

Within ASEAN, countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam are pursuing separate efforts to secure Russian fuel.

Prabowo's younger brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo claimed that the Russian deal would include up to 150 million barrels of oil. The initial shipments would include 100 million barrels which Russia was willing to give at a “special price”, he said.

Jakarta has previously committed to facilitating US enegy imports as part of their controversial tariff agreement. Indonesia's to-buy list was supposed to be as follows: $4.5 billion worth of crude and LPG valued at $3.5 billion.

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