St. Petersburg, Russia. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Friday dismissed speculation over his absence from the recent Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada, reaffirming Indonesia’s respect for the Western-led forum despite choosing to attend an economic gathering hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Prabowo clarified that his decision to attend the Russian event had nothing to do with geopolitics, but was simply due to a scheduling conflict.

“I was asked why I didn’t attend the G7 Summit. It’s not because I don’t respect the G7, but because I gave my commitment to attend this forum before their invitation came. That’s the only reason,” Prabowo told the forum audience, with President Putin present.

The G7, a coalition of the world’s largest advanced economies, has taken a firm stance against Russia since its annexation of Crimea in 2014 -- the very event that led to Russia’s suspension from what was then the G8. Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western European members of the G7 -- including Germany, France, Italy, and the UK -- have imposed sweeping economic sanctions on Russia and provided Ukraine with financial aid, military support, and diplomatic backing.

The G7 summit in Canada and Russia’s economic forum in St. Petersburg took place almost concurrently, both under the shadow of intensifying conflict in Ukraine and deepening geopolitical polarization. Against this backdrop, Prabowo’s presence in Russia has drawn attention from international observers, sparking speculation about Indonesia’s foreign policy direction.

Indonesia's Non-Aligned Tradition
In his remarks, Prabowo sought to downplay such assumptions, firmly reiterating Indonesia’s longstanding foreign policy of non-alignment.

“Indonesia, by tradition, is always non-aligned. We respect all countries. Our foreign policy is simple: ‘one thousand friends are too few, one enemy is too many.’ We want to be friends with everybody,” he said to applause.

The Indonesian president also praised China and Russia for what he described as consistent support for developing nations, particularly in international forums. “They have stood by developing countries without double standards -- and I say this from my heart,” he added.