President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo holds a press conference after the G20 Summit in Bali on Nov. 16, 2022.
Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said that all parties should remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid escalating tension after a missile landed in Poland, killing two Polish citizens.
“I regret the incident that happened in Poland. I call for all parties to remain calm and refrain from escalating tension,” Jokowi said at a G20 press conference on Wednesday.
“I always state that war will only bring devastation. Therefore, we must stop the war. And President Biden himself has already said that the missile was unlikely to come from Russia,” he said.
The G20 Summit took place amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. The already bad geopolitical tension got worse when a missile landed in NATO member Poland on Tuesday – the same day when G20 leaders convened in Bali. US President Joe Biden said that he was unable to confirm if the missile that landed in Przewodów had been fired from Russia.
Speaking before the Sejm parliament, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Wednesday that “although we do not know the exact causes of the tragedy in Przewodów, we do know the primary cause – Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”
“This tragedy would not have happened if Russia had not launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine yesterday,” he said, as quoted by his office.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the missile which came crashing down in Przewodów was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile fired to defend against Russian attacks. However, Russia still remains responsible.
“Our preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks. But let me clear: this is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said, as quoted from NATO’s official website.
A missile dropped on the village Przewodów, in close proximity to Ukrainian borders, on Tuesday at 3.40 p.m. local time. The incident killed two Polish citizens. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported Tuesday that Russia fired a total of 90 missiles to Ukraine that day.